A review of the year just ending and a glimpse of what’s to come...

Business people – a special breed  

Having led Business West for nearly 30 years it still delights me that business owners and managers are a special breed, confident in their own drive and abilities to create a success of their own businesses.

The results of our quarterly economic survey have, without fail, shown that our businesses leaders are always more confident in their own company’s future than they are in the wider UK’s prospects.

We can only hope that these business “animal spirits” can collectively lift the UK out of its current malaise.

 

A difficult environment

To be fair, 2024 has not been short of reasons why businesses might take umbrage with the wider UK economic scene: increases in employer NI taxation and wider business costs set against a lack of detail on the new government’s much vaunted economic growth mission; the weak state of the UK infrastructure that businesses so rely upon; tight labour markets and ongoing skills challenges; an anaemic growth rate and uncertainty around global trade and climate change rules.

 

Day to day business support  

In amongst all this turmoil, Business West has, over 2024, been flat-out trying to do our best to support our members and customers.

Our trade documentation team is one of the most progressive and effective sources of trade facilitation expertise in the UK. In the past year, we have processed over 19,000 documents facilitating more than £1 billion in international trade. Twenty other UK accredited Chambers of Commerce rely on our Bristol-based export services team to do their trade documents for them under a white label arrangement.

We support a range of funded business support initiatives, including Social Economy West, Somerset Innovation Network and Swindon Mindful Employer Network. Our Local Skills Improvement Planning (LSIP) team, the largest in England, has been busy working with educational and training providers to align their courses more closely with business needs, helping to equip the future workforce with the right skills.

In total, the LSIP team has listened to over 500 businesses across Gloucestershire, Swindon & Wiltshire, West of England and North Somerset this year. The team has then informed 53 FE Colleges and private training providers about our local employers’ training needs. We’ve covered key sectors, as well as cross-sector areas like green skills.

List any 10 successful innovative companies in the South West and I guarantee that many of them will have been helped by our Innovate UK Business Growth team.  Whether it’s been helping them to access equity, collaborate internationally, handle their IP, or secure a grant, Business West’s innovation team are simply fabulous at what they do.

Our membership offer, whether it is for our hundreds of Initiative, Chamber or Hydrogen South West Members, provides not only information, advice, services and connections for those businesses, but it also acts as sources of business intelligence too. This allows us to speak with credibility, and on our members’ behalf, to those in power.

We’ve now also become a member-held company, meaning our agenda is now shaped by our business members.

This year, we also achieved B Corp recertification, and increased our score to 109.9. This underscores our commitment to responsible business and leading by example. We believe that by being open about our journey, including where we need to improve, we can encourage others to follow our lead.

Our subsidiary company Visit West, helped by our WoE Local Authorities, has secured significant West of England Combined Authority ( WECA ) support to maintain and expand the great work that it does in promoting our region as a destination, and our tourism businesses.

 

Planning for the long term  

This year, as well as supporting businesses with their daily challenges, Business West has been instrumental in supporting the longer-term economic plans and projects that the regions need to be successful.

Our work around the Swindon Railway Station site, alongside Network Rail and the Borough Council, has kicked-off a regeneration project that will see a massive uplift in the area around the station for both Swindon’s businesses and citizens. We’re also proud to support the town’s fantastic Festival of Tomorrow, which showcases innovation, and is helping to inspire the workforce of the future.

Also, with the longer-term in mind, we have, this year, created Futures West, a body comprising our universities and key anchor businesses, which will research and shape our region’s economic growth. Working with these partners and others, including our Local Authorities, we can, through Futures West, evidence and aim for economic prosperity that is inclusive and sustainable.

 

A look ahead to 2025

With the Government hopefully resetting the foundations and confidence for economic growth, there are four themes in particular that will have a major impact on the region’s and country’s prospects over 2025.

 

1. Capital investment   

Private sector money, government money, pension fund money - all is welcome in the need to improve our faltering infrastructure and invest in our businesses.

The prime   target will likely be shiny new scale-ups in life sciences or tech, with the investment money coming from venture capital or private equity seeking larger rewards in return for larger risks.

However, equally valid will be investment in the untapped growth that describes so many of our solid SMEs that are the heart and soul, of UK plc. They too need funds to take their businesses to the next stage.

We also need investment to improve our region’s transport infrastructure. As I’ve said before, this is not just a ‘transport’ issue, but fundamental to improving economic growth, social mobility, cohesion and achieving net zero.

Business West will be pushing for all such investment.

 

2. Global Trade and export

Export has been, for far too long, too low on successive governments’ agendas. 

Already since Brexit, exports from the UK have struggled and the looming threat of Trump’s increased tariff regime, and the expected counter measures, could well stifle global trade.

It could get very complex, very quickly. Our trade experts are watching closely and, as ever, Business West will be guiding those trading internationally through it.

 

3. Artificial Intelligence

It’s here…  and whilst AI may not take your job, or your business, someone who can better leverage the technology will. Transfer of AI technology expertise into UK workplaces is going to play a huge role in improving the UK’s workplace productivity. 

 At Business West, we are rolling out training to staff to ensure they are well equipped to take advantage of this technology. We are also exploring how AI, and other related technologies, can create greater value not only for us, but also for the businesses that we support.

 

4. Devolution 

Many governments historically have grazed their knees on local government reform. The current strategy to devolve more and more out of Westminster to the regions is laudable but requires careful planning.

With the government’s tepidness about regional powerhouses like Western Gateway, and Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) sparse on the ground in Southern England, I do fear potential, albeit temporary, two-tier devolution arrangements.

This could see the proud shires of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire either being shot-gunned into marriages with other shires, or falling behind the resources and powers being made available to the metropolitan MCAs.

It will also be all-change at the West of England Combined Authority, as a new Metro Mayor will be ushered in, next spring.

If devolution interests you, then do sign up for the  Festival of Flourishing Regions in January, in Bristol, which will take a deeper dive into this.