Businesses in the region retain an appetite for growth and secure new investment and a significant number are planning to expand overseas in the next year. Despite recession fears, nearly half of mid-sized businesses in East Anglia will seek funding for growth in the next six to 11 months, according to BDO’s latest Rethinking the Economy survey. It showed that 43 per cent firms in the region intend to look for investment by the middle of 2023 with a third putting fund-raising plans in place in the next 12-17 months.

The survey showed that the top two sources of funding for East Anglian businesses are revenue-based finance (29 per cent) and private equity (23 per cent). Public markets and angel investors also options. John Gethen, M&A director at BDO in East Anglia, said: “Regional businesses are facing a plethora of challenges that keep on mounting in the face of an impending recession. Despite this, there is still a clear appetite to seek and secure investment, as businesses look towards multiple sources of funding to meet strategic aims. With the investor market equally as ambitious in the region, eager to support entrepreneurial companies that wish to scale up at pace, we expect this level of interest by companies to have a positive effect on investment activity in East Anglia over the coming 12 to 18 months.”

The survey also showed that one in five companies intend to expand internationally in the next 12 months. Of those businesses that currently operate overseas, 17 per cent plan to expand their presence.