Business confidence in the East has reached its highest level this year raising hopes for a strong summer for the region’s hospitality and leisure sector although more firms are planning to reduce staff numbers.
Confidence rose 16 points to 42 per cent at the beginning of June according to a business barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. The good weather and a reduction in food and energy prices should benefit leisure and hospitality businesses in coming months.
Dene Jones, regional director for the East of England at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It's great to see confidence levels in the region hitting record levels as businesses get into the swing of what looks likely to be a busy summer season, particularly for the region’s hospitality and leisure sector.” Firms in the region reported higher confidence in both their own business prospects and on the economy. But a net balance of 20 per cent of businesses in the region expect to reduce staff levels over the next year, down seven points on last month. Almost half of businesses firms in the East see evolving product and service offerings as their top target for growth in the next six months.
Nationally, confidence amongst both services and manufacturing firms reached the highest level since early last year and eight out of 10 regions reported a more optimistic picture. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It’s encouraging to see business confidence rebounding following last month’s five-point dip to 28 per cent...However interest rate rises and cost pressures are still felt by many and we await to see the impact of the latest 50 basis point rise in the base rate. Meanwhile, expectations for average pay growth, although down slightly this month, appear to have picked up compared with the start of the year and remain elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels.”
