Member Article

Yorkshire business leaders are amongst the most confident in the UK about the future following COVID-19

• 67% of Yorkshire companies are confident about their resilience over the next 12 months, compared to an average of 51% nationwide, according to a BDO LLP poll released today
• The majority (51%) of Yorkshire business leaders expect the UK economy to bounce back from the pandemic within 12 months, which is well above the national average of 44%
• Over a third (35%) of the region’s businesses believe they are already succeeding in the ‘new reality’

The monthly Rethinking the Economy survey of 500 mid-sized businesses conducted by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP, revealed an overwhelming vote of confidence amongst Yorkshire businesses about the future, despite nearly two thirds (64%) seeing an overall decline in revenues because of COVID-19.

Commenting on the findings, Terry Jones, partner and head of BDO LLP in Yorkshire said: “The region’s business leaders are confident because they’ve taken decisive and innovative action to address the financial impact and disruption caused by coronavirus. 39% of business owners reported they’ve safeguarded their businesses, while more than a quarter (26%) have adjusted to keeping operations running in a new climate of uncertainty and constant change.”

Yorkshire business leaders are now addressing key operational concerns, confirming the top three priorities as managing supply chains (61%), protecting employee wellbeing and safety (61%), and generating sales (52%).

Terry Jones concluded: “There’s no avoiding that the challenges and impacts of the pandemic are still very real and far from over. Unfortunately, redundancies are still a real possibility in the region and something that 71% of companies will be considering when the Government’s furlough scheme ends.

“What is reassuring at this time is the encouraging levels of confidence amongst the region’s businesses. This better places companies to bounce back from the impacts of COVID-19 and reduce the potential for large-scale job losses and declines in revenue.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma McCallum .