Bank of England’s Governor guest of honour at Manchester business leaders’ round table

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey appeared joined at a pro-manchester event to engage with the city’s business leaders and listen to their concerns.
Sean Williams, Chairman of pro- manchester, the largest business development organisation in the North West, welcomed guests to the round table at the National Football Museum earlier this month.

Topics under discussion included how business leaders are reacting to the impact on their companies from the squeeze on household incomes and wider inflationary pressure, along with the economic outlook for 2023.

Mr Williams, who is Head of Professional Sector at specialist lender Together, said: “We were delighted to host Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and his team along with pro-manchester’s other distinguished guests to this round table discussion, to hear how businesses across the North West are navigating the current choppy waters.

“While we’re facing a lot of economic pressures at the moment, it’s encouraging to see business leaders are already planning for future investment and have ambitious plans as the economy starts to bounce back.”

Mr Williams highlighted Cheadle-based Together’s latest research into uncertainty among UK SMEs.

The survey of 300 business leaders revealed half (49%) were feeling pessimistic because of the uncertain economy. This turbulence has caused UK SMEs to put on hold investment plans with an average gap in investment per business of £147,000 over the past 12 months.

However, Mr Williams said the research also highlights SMEs’ increasing optimism and appetite for investment projects in light of leading economists’ predictions that the UK economy will grow from the end of next year and into 2024.

Following the event, Mr Williams said: “What’s clear from our research is that business leaders are deeply concerned about the day-to-day running of their companies in the short-term. However, 90% of forward-thinking company owners and directors are preparing to turn on the investment taps.”

Guests at the pro-manchester round table also discussed recruitment difficulties and future employment plans; the main drivers of pay pressure and how increased costs and demand conditions were influencing business’s pricing decisions.

Alison Stuart, Agent for the North West at the Bank of England, who attended the event said: “We thank the pro-manchester team for hosting Governor, Andrew Bailey and ourselves and for an open and engaging discussion.

“We learnt a lot from firms, including their about views on the challenging economic outlook, the labour market and thinking on the longer term policies that could help boost among businesses in the region. We look forward to continuing the great collaboration between pro-manchester and the North West Agency and to arranging similar events together in the future.”