East Anglia businesses plot multi-million pound investments, says BDO

The firm’s bi-monthly Economic Engine survey of 500 mid-sized businesses, which generate a turnover of between £10m to £300m each and account for one in four UK jobs, has revealed that nearly half locally plan to direct their investment primarily within the UK.

More than a quarter of East Anglian businesses said that developing new products and services was one of their top priorities between now and the end of the year. The same number are prioritising investing in AI skills, tools and technology in order to fast-track growth.

With a new government now in post, East Anglian businesses are calling for policies that will help them deliver their scale-up plans. Facing persistent recruitment challenges, more than half want to see the Government prioritise policies to ease workforce pressures, including reform of the apprenticeship levy or more support towards the cost of skilled worker visas.

To enable better access to finance, a quarter are calling for the Government to prioritise smaller business banks entering the market or increasing access to grants for their ventures.

Almost 40 per cent are calling for more progress on investment in the regions outside London and the South East. The follows the announcement during the King’s Speech that an English Devolution Bill will streamline the process to transfer more powers to elected mayors in combined council areas.

Peter Harrup, regional managing partner in East Anglia at BDO, said: “With a new government in place and inflation hitting the Bank of England’s two per cent target in May, businesses in the region have some reason to be optimistic after years of challenging economic conditions and uncertainty.

“The message from East Anglia businesses is clearly one centred on growth, but they will need the support of central policymakers to ensure that the regions receive the required investment to accelerate those ambitions, with Labour looking to take a fresh approach to tackling regional inequalities.”

BDO has published a ‘mid-market manifesto’ outlining key policy areas that it believes will best support the growth of the UK’s mid-sized businesses. This includes extending holistic grants programmes to the mid-market to increase access to finance, reforming the apprenticeship levy and targeted support for mid-market exporters.