Tees business leaders remain upbeat at roundtable event

Business leaders gave an upbeat assessment of the fortunes of the Tees Valley economy at a special event this week.

Business leaders from North East Finance, Tees Valley Unlimited, process cluster group NEPIC and business law specialists Endeavour Partnership attended the event, which included a Question Time-style Q&A session hosted by well-known BBC business reporter Steph McGovern from Middlesbrough.

Several key issues emerged from a lively debate, including the ability of the current financial landscape to support business growth. While the general opinion was that Tees Valley had made a strong recovery from the financial crash, business leaders said more needed to be done to ensure companies had better access to affordable finance.

Panellist Jason Hobbs of North East Finance – which manages the £125 million Finance for Business North East programme – said: “The economic outlook for Tees Valley certainly looks more optimistic than it was four years ago, when the country was gripped by a vice-like recession.

“However, some SMEs say they are still struggling to get hold of affordable finance which is putting the brakes on their growth. This has provided an opportunity for private equity and debt finance specialists to fill this funding gap and show businesses that there are many options available to them.”

The Finance for Business North East programme is one of these options. Since it was launched in 2010 it has provided £87 million of debt and equity funding to almost 600 North East SMEs, creating or safeguarding nearly 3,000 jobs.

Locally, Tees Valley firms have received more than £13 million of direct investment from FFBNE, which has secured an additional £19 million-plus of private sector cash to support deals from venture capital firms, business angels and other investors.

Beneficiaries include Middlesbrough lighting technology specialist Ambx, Preston Farm recruitment firm MC2 Technical and Middlesbrough digital media specialist Amplience, which collectively have received more than £1 million from the funds. Datum360, a Middlesbrough-based engineering data services provider, benefited to the tune of more than £1.2 million.

The funding dilemma was not the only discussion point at the event, which was hosted by North East Finance and Tees Valley Business Club. Bosses debated the skills agenda, the importance of exports to the local economy and the ability of the local infrastructure to support business growth.

Panellists included Tees Valley Unlimited MD Stephen Catchpole, Paul Bury of Endeavour Partnership and NEPIC CEO Stan Higgins.

Stephen Catchpole said: “The local economy is showing signs of robustness after a difficult few years. Companies are showing more confidence and the general trend is towards job creation and growth rather than cutbacks and job losses.”

Stan Higgins said: “This debate has been a useful barometer of the state of the local economy. It has highlighted Tees Valley’s core strengths in its process, petrochemical and renewable energy industries – three sectors which are driving growth and bringing the region out of the economic doldrums.

Paul Bury said: “The mood among the business community is relatively upbeat, although growth remains steady rather than spectacular. Access to finance, skills gaps in the engineering and manufacturing sectors and improvements to our transport infrastructure are key issues that need to be addressed if the economic recovery is to gather pace.”

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