South West economic confidence falls in November - Lloyds

Published by

Peter Davison

Amanda Dorel

Business confidence in the South West fell in November, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

The poll - conducted before the Autumn Statement - found companies in the region reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up one point at 52 per cent.

'Huge rebound' in business confidence in South West - Lloyds

But when taken alongside their optimism about the economy, down 20 points to 23 per cent, this gave a headline confidence reading of 38 per cent – down nine points.

South West businesses identified their top target areas for growth in the next six months as investing in their teams (49 per cent), evolving their products and services (37 per cent) and entering new markets (30 per cent).

Amanda Dorel, regional director for the South West at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: "Despite confidence levels dipping slightly in the region, it's encouraging to see firms remaining confident in their own operations as we head into what is often a very busy end of the year.

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"With Christmas shopping in full swing for many, it's important that businesses, particularly those in the hospitality and leisure sectors, regroup to ensure they can get the most out of a busy trading period.

"Managing working capital and keeping a tight rein on margins will help businesses to capitalise on opportunities and be primed to take full advantage of the busy festive period."

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.