Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

•    After significant declines across all business conditions tracked by the BCC in Q3, most indicators have stabilised at a low level. 
•    Profitability confidence remains at Covid-crisis levels; only one in three (34%) businesses believe their profits will increase over the coming year, while more (36%) expect a decline.   
•    Just 33% of firms experienced an increase in sales over the past three months, while 25% of firms reported a decrease, with hospitality firms the least likely to report improvements.  
•    More firms are reporting taxation (38%) and interest rates (43%) as growing business concerns.  

Reacting to the ONS GDP figures for October, David Bharier, Head of Research at the BCC, said:    

"The monthly growth in GDP for October of 0.5% is overshadowed by the underlying three-month trend revealed by the data, which shows a contraction in the economy of 0.3%.

Commenting on the Chancellor’s Fiscal Statement, Shevaun Havilland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“Businesses will welcome many of the measures announced today that should boost economic growth, relieve cost pressures and encourage investment.

Reacting to the announcement of the new Prime Minister, Sarah Howard, Chair of the BCC, said: “We would like to congratulate Liz Truss on running a successful campaign to become the UK’s new Prime Minister.

“She must now take immediate steps to support the economy. The last few months have been difficult for everyone, time is running out and urgent action is needed to deal with the costs’ crisis.

Whatever the size of your business, it is likely that at some stage you will face multiple challenges that can feel impossible to overcome. In fact, you will typically experience these at every stage of the business’s growth.

In this piece, we take a look at what we, as a member of the British Chambers of Commerce, offer to make it easier for business owners in our region to get advice and support when they need it most.

Director General of the BCC, Shevaun Haviland, is to urge the Government to take action to save the economy as the cost of doing business crisis continues to worsen.

Commenting on the Office for National Statistics inflation figures for May 2022, Head of Research at the BCC, David Bharier, said:  
“The further increase in Consumer Prices Index inflation to 9.1% underscores the severe pressure that businesses and households are under.

• Proportion of UK exporters reporting increased export sales (29%) was largely unchanged for the 4th quarter running

• Proportion reporting decreased sales historically high at 25%, also little changed since 1 year ago in Q1 2021

• Exporters more likely that non-exporters to expect increases to their prices in coming months

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is urging the Chancellor to take bold and decisive action in his Spring Statement to tackle the escalating cost of doing business crisis.

UK economic growth is expected to halve this year amid soaring inflation, major tax rises, and global shocks - including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• 71% of exporters say EU trade deal is not enabling them to grow or increase sales

• Only 1 in 8 exporters think it is helping them grow or increase sales


• Majority think it has pushed up costs, increased paperwork and delays, and put the UK at a competitive disadvantage.

Commenting on the inflation statistics for January 2022, published today by the Office for National Statistics, Head of Economics at the BCC Suren Thiru, said:

“Rising inflation highlights both the cost-of-living crisis facing households and the uphill struggle for businesses to keep a lid on price rises amid surging cost pressures.

• 73% of firms in a new survey say they are raising prices in response to rising costs

• More than 3 in 5 (62%) cite soaring energy bills as driving factor, rising to 75% for manufacturers

• 63% site increased wage bills as driving prices rises

• British Chambers of Commerce call on the Chancellor to adopt their five-point plan to address these challenges. These include a temporary energy price cap for small businesses and the extension of the financial support announced for households last week to include small firms

The British Chambers of Commerce has warned the Treasury of an impending ‘cost of doing business crisis’. A new survey of more than 1,000 businesses, showed that firms across the country are under intense pressure from a variety of costs. It found that prices were likely to rise as a result, further fuelling the cost-of-living crisis for households.

In response to the new research, BCC Director General, Shevaun Haviland, has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak warning of the dangers facing firms. The British Chambers of Commerce has outlined a five-point plan, which if implemented, will help businesses to weather the current conditions and keep price rises under control. These measures included a temporary energy price cap for small businesses, extending the Chancellor’s energy bills rebate scheme for households to smaller businesses and delaying the planned National Insurance rise by 1 year.

Survey Results

When firms were asked if their business was facing pressure to raise prices from a variety of sources the results were as follows: 

Responding to the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper, Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:


“This is an important first step in putting local economic prosperity at the heart of Government policy.

On the second anniversary of Brexit, and with huge lorry queues being reported at Dover last week, the BCC is calling for urgent action to improve trade with Europe.

The British Chambers of Commerce is today setting out its manifesto to recruit legions of new UK exporters as its research continues to show poor overseas trade growth:

• In Q4 of 2021, just over a quarter of exporting firms (29%) saw their overseas sales increase

• Almost half (47%) saw no change, and a quarter (24%) reported a decrease

• This is despite substantially more firms reporting improved domestic conditions, with 45% confirming increased UK sales in Q4

• More than half of firms believe their exposure to attack has increased due to working from home arrangements

• One in 10 firms have been the victim of a cyber-attack in the last year

• This rises to more than one in seven for larger firms with more than 50 employees

• Only one in five firms have cyber-security accreditations in place

• 58% of firms expect their prices to increase in the next three months, the highest on record. 66% of businesses cited inflation as a concern, also a record high
• 1 in 4 (27%) firms were worried about rising interest rates, as concerns over rate hikes among manufacturers reach record high
• Just under half of firms (45%) reported increased domestic sales in Q4, compared to 47% in Q3

• 45% of firms in a new survey reported difficulties adapting to changes in rules for buying or selling goods brought about by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), while 15% reported that this was easy

• Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) said they faced difficulties of buying or selling services, while 14% found it easy

• 1 in 5 (20%) reported difficulties moving people, while 8% found it easy

• The BCC also launched a report alongside the survey which explores solutions to the issues

• Nine out of 10 firms have not done any assessment on a series of key strategies for managing a sustainable transition to net zero

• Two thirds (61%) said either capital grants or tax allowances would do most to encourage them to reduce their carbon consumption in the long term.

• Most firms recommend the government focus on a transition to more efficient sources of energy

Giving her reaction to the Chancellor’s budget, Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC, said:

“There is much to welcome in this Budget for business communities across the UK.

   
• Proportion of UK exporters reporting increased export sales (30%) rose slightly from Q2 (27%)

• However, proportion reporting decreased sales remained stubbornly and historically high at 26%, while 45% report no change

• Recovery in manufacturing exports began to fall back slightly from previous quarter

UK business investment is expected to decline this year despite the prospect of record economic growth, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) economic forecast.

The leading business group predicts UK GDP growth for 2021 of 7.1%, which, if realised, would be the strongest outturn since official records began in 1949.1

• National business survey finds vast majority of small businesses have yet to put targets in place to reduce their emissions – with the pandemic pushing climate action down the agenda

• Just 11% of respondents measure their carbon footprint, although half of respondents acknowledge their customers are worried about the environment

• Larger firms are far more likely to be taking environmental action than microbusinesses

• Over half (52%) of firms say they attempted to recruit in Q2, highest since last pre-pandemic quarter

• Nearly two fifths (38%) expect to grow their workforce in next quarter, higher than pre-pandemic 2018-19 average of 29%

• 70% of those who attempted to recruit now report difficulty finding staff, a 7-point rise from the previous quarter 

The new Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, Shevaun Haviland, will today set out the action needed to help firms and communities rebuild.

In her first speech at the BCC’s Global Annual Conference, Haviland will argue that key steps are needed to boost UK trade, unlock the blockages in the skills training system and build a greener and more sustainable economy that achieves the aim of net zero by 2050.

• Growth: 63% of firms surveyed confident in their growth prospects over next 12 months

• Restarting: 53% already operating at pre-pandemic capacity; 80% expect to be by October

• Barriers: 38% cited further lockdowns as a barrier to re-opening, while 37% cited ongoing social distancing measures

• Finance: 44% believe access to finance will help overcome the remaining barriers to fully restarting operations

A major new report is calling for a root and branch reform of the UK’s training system to help businesses access the skills they need to boost productivity.

The final report from the Workplace Training and Development Commission (WTDC), set up by the British Chambers of Commerce in partnership with Indeed, follows an 18-month in-depth study of what businesses want from adult skills training provision in the UK.

Speaking after news that the Trade and Co-operation Agreeement has been ratified, Hannah Essex, Co-Executive Director of the BCC, said:

“While there may be relief that the ratification of the TCA has gone smoothly, the reality is that the changes within the agreement have been operational now for almost four months.

Commenting on GDP figures for February 2021 published by the ONS, BCC Head of Economics, Suren Thiru, said:

“The latest data confirms a modest return to growth in February. However, coming after a contraction in January, it does little to alter the prospect of a downbeat first quarter for the UK economy.