Broadening horizons really does boost business

Businesses that export are significantly out-performing those trading solely in the UK, according to the findings from Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce's most recent Quarterly Economic Survey, and, in order to encourage more businesses to export in the region, the Chamber is running a series of educational export events, in conjunction with UKTI and NatWest.

The free export events have been designed to help new and existing exporters to either get started, or help move things on to the next level, with support programmes, risk management advice and practical information on the opportunities available.

Findings from the Chamber's quarter two QES, which was completed by a record 854 businesses from across Greater Manchester, revealed that businesses that export have more intentions to recruit and increased confidence, especially in the manufacturing sector.

Christian Spence, Research Manager at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: "Analysis of the data from the Chamber's Quarterly Economic Survey shows that businesses that are actively engaged with overseas markets perform significantly better than UK-only traders.

"With exporting service companies twice as likely to recruit in the coming quarter than non-exporters, rising to three times for manufacturers, and confidence about the coming year's turnover four times higher for manufacturers with an international sales reach, twice as high for service businesses, you can see the opportunities that lie across the sea."

He continued: "While exports from the North West have risen over 7% in the past year, the number of exporting businesses is broadly flat.

"The Chamber in partnership with UKTI and NatWest is encouraging businesses who have never exported to consider how they may reach new markets."

Steve Sankson, Regional Director for Commercial Banking at NatWest commented: "NatWest are pleased to be working in partnership with UKTI and the Chamber to deliver these free events to potential exporters.

"It's a great example of the public and private sector working together to deliver expertise to Greater Manchester's SMEs. We work with a lot of great businesses in Greater Manchester and we want to help make it as easy as possible for them to break into overseas markets."