Rising costs and their impact on profitability, skills and investment, were the main talking points at an event last week, as Yorkshire finance leaders met with senior figures from the Bank of England.
The event – hosted and organised by accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP – brought together regional businesses for an exclusive session with Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, Sarah Breeden.
Breeden, who is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee, Prudential Regulation Committee and the Bank’s Court of Directors, provided businesses with an update on the current economic environment, policy landscape, and outlook.
She also posed three questions during the roundtable discussion: How have business costs evolved due to the conflict in the Middle East and the impact on energy costs; how is this impacting profitability and decision making around hiring and investment; and how is inflationary pressure translating into wages and customer pricing.
Yorkshire’s finance leaders from across a range of sectors, including manufacturing, construction and services, discussed the pressures facing their business, addressing growing concerns around supply chain challenges, the impact of tariffs, energy costs, availability of skills, regulation and the impact of increases to the National Living Wage.
Dan Brookes, interim regional managing partner at BDO in Yorkshire and the North East, commented: “The mid-market plays a vital role in delivering economic growth in the region, whether that’s through creating high-quality jobs, providing local investment, or by driving innovation. This event was an opportunity for finance leaders to engage with senior decision-makers at the Bank of England, setting out their ambitions while addressing the significant challenges to growth that currently exist.”
The event forms part of the Bank of England’s efforts to engage with businesses across the UK regions to gain a greater understanding of those challenges, and how businesses are evolving to remain resilient in a changing world.
Alex Golledge, The Bank of England Agent for Yorkshire & the Humber, said: “The roundtable provides the Bank of England with valuable insight on the impact that macro factors are having on businesses in the region. These firsthand observations are hugely important. Reviewing data alone does not always provide the same level of understanding – something that is extremely valuable to policy makers.”
Earlier this year, BDO published its latest Mid-Market Manifesto, a series of calls to action for government to maximise the mid-market’s growth.
This includes measures to address skill shortages across sectors and regions, including protecting access to apprenticeships on management, leadership and digital transformation.
It also includes sector-specific recommendations to boost growth for some of the most constrained industries. Finally, it recommends measures to simplify the tax regime to promote investment, boost employment, and back entrepreneurship.
