The Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce has published a full report and economic brief for its Quarterly Economic Survey for Q1 2016. The full report can be viewed here.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Gary Woodman, Executive Director of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Recently we announced that Worcestershire has shown one of the fastest rates of growth in economic output nationally in recent years and this quarter’s QES results act as a reminder that businesses are still working hard to drive growth in our local economy.
“It is good to see that business confidence for the future for an increased turnover and profitability has risen significantly over the last quarter and that businesses are expecting to increase the size of their workforce. Companies have also succeeded in increasing their export sales despite the challenges faced in the global economy.
“The latest results do, however, indicate that local business investment could be higher and that companies’ overall growth in sales and orders has been fairly steady. For businesses looking to invest and expand, the Worcestershire Growth Fund, which is funded by our Growth Deal, is currently available and allows businesses to apply for grants of up to £100,000 to support the growth of their business, create jobs and increase productivity. Expressions of Interest for round 2 need to be submitted by 13 May 2016 with details available at www.business-central.co.uk/worcestershiregrowthfund.
“We have once again seen a strong rationale for confidence in Worcestershire’s economy – with a range of infrastructure improvements currently being delivered through Worcestershire’s Growth Deal. Furthermore, an additional £1.8bn has been announced by Government for the 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships to bid towards on a competitive basis. This funding will go towards projects that address key economic issues and improve business productivity through for example; skills provision, providing access to high quality commercial property and improving digital and transport infrastructure.”