Member Article

Yorkshire businesses hungry for new markets

Yorkshire businesses see expanding into new markets and maintaining their current size as the most important parts of their “vision.”

GE Capital’s ‘Leading from the Middle’ report, an annual survey into UK and European mid-market companies, reveals some of the key elements that Yorkshire firms see as important in their “vision for the business.”

The top five elements for the region’s businesses also include ‘expanding into other markets to build a truly international business’ (12%); ‘surviving the current economic challenge’ (12%); ‘expanding organically’ (9%).

Yorkshire also has a high proportion of what GE terms ‘growers’ (companies claiming 5-9% growth in the last year), with an impressive 30% of businesses falling into this category, compared to 23% in London and just 9% in East England.

Ilaria del Beato, UK CEO of GE Capital commented: “Our research has identified a good deal of optimism amongst mid-market businesses in Yorkshire. Across the UK, these businesses are crucial to the economy as although small in number – less than 2% of all companies – they provide over one third of private sector GDP, revenues and employment.

“In the region, these concerns grew by 2.8% last year, more than the UK average of 2.3% and the German average of 2.4%. They are mindful of challenges ahead and want to maintain what they have already built, but 36% are aiming to exploit new opportunities in fast-growing foreign markets – more than any other region in England.

“This is a region looking to the future with a high degree of optimism - and with good reason.”

GE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric and works with businesses worldwide.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gatehouse .