Business activity fell further in the region in July as new orders fell although cost inflation slowed and private firms in the region are continuing to recruit staff helped by stronger expectations, according to a key survey of purchasing managers. The NatWest East of England PMI business activity index fell in July from 47.9 to 46.8, below the 50 -level which denotes no change. Weak client appetite, market uncertainty and increased delivery times all contributed to the downturn in the region, which contrasted with a modest rise ...
Read more...East Anglia and Lincolnshire are set to become centres for the UK’s potentially huge CO2 capture and storage industry involving the creation of thousands of new jobs according to a new government-comissioned report. It says the region’s offshore engineering and other supply chain firms are in prime position to benefit from growth in the sector, if the government provides urgent support. The study by Offshore Energies UK says skills developed in regions involved with the oil and gas industries mean they are ideally-placed to become hubs for CO2 capture and storage (CCS).
It follows a...
Read more...Business confidence in the East of England jumped 15 points in July to 46 per cent, the highest reading of any UK region and bucking a less optimistic national trend, according to a business barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking . Firms in the East reported higher confidence in their own business prospects - up 22 points at 59 per cent and also a national high - and to a lesser extent, increased optimism on the economy. The region’s firms identified their growth priorities for the next six months as diversifying into new markets, investing in their teams and evolving their off...
Read more...A surge in the take-up of large industrial units along the eastern stretch of the A14 leading to the Port of Felixstowe is being driven by international firms attracted to the area by the launch of the Freeport East initiative. Take-up of large industrial units (over 100,000 sq ft) in the East of England rose to a record 2.91 million sq ft in the first half - up 223% up on the period last year and more than five times the long-term annual average - according to a Big Shed Briefing report from agent Savills. Key deals across the region in the first half saw retailer The Range take a large ...
Read more...A major retailer, The Range, has become the first business to commit to taking space on the new Freeport East Gateway 14 site, near Stowmarket. The home, garden and leisure products retailer is to occupy a logistics/distribution unit covering nearly 1.2 million sq. ft. Conditional contracts have been exchanged to develop the unit on a freehold turnkey basis with Jaynic, the development partner for Gateway 14, which is owned by Freeport East partner Mid Suffolk District Council. George Kieffer, acting chairman of Freeport East, said: “…Freeport East is focused upon value-added logis...
Read more...The East of England secured 40 foreign direct investment projects last year, the same number as the pre-pandemic level of 2019 but below the total of 54 attracted to th...
Investment in the Cambridge office and laboratory property market reached a record of over £1 billion last year - more than seven times the five-year average - drive...
X-on, a cloud telephony company founded in a Suffolk barn 20 years ago which has grown to a £10 million turnover business with 70 staff in Woodbridge, has been acquire...
Norwich, Luton, Ipswich and Cambridge have been ranked among the top 20 best performing cities in the annual Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index . Norwich ranked sixth of...
Small businesses in the East of England have seen a surge in equity investment over the past year as the number of deals has increased and the region has attracted a gr...
Glasswells Home Furnishing Superstore in Bury St Edmunds has unveiled four newly-installed electric vehicle charging points at its site on Newmarket Road. They form par...
Communications agency Pier has won two new renewables sector appointments; for an autonomous wind turbine inspections firm, Perceptual Robotics and the East of England...
Associated British Ports has seen strong growth in the number of leisure boats using its Ipswich Marina and the outlook is buoyant for 2022. Leisure craft use at ABP’...