Greater Manchester Business Survey: Key issues/challenges for Greater Manchester Businesses Richard Cook 30 September 2015

Background 2,000+ interviews from Nov 2014-Jan 2015 Representative of GM by Business base Size Sector Location

What did the survey look at? Business background Drivers & barriers to growth Local area Recruitment & skills Business support Innovation & technology Export, trade & connectivity 7 themes

Strong business sentiment

Drivers of, and barriers to, growth

Business location: satisfaction of local area as a place to do business (1) Excludes “Don’t know” responses

Most satisfaction in GM with Access to public transport Road transport access Quality of premises Least satisfaction in GM with Availability of parking Crime & ASB Image of area Business location: satisfaction of local area as a place to do business (2)

Workforce & skills Hard-to-fill vacancies Around 10% of firms in GM Main reasons: low number of applicants with required skills; lack of applicants with the required work ethic; and lack of work experience. Manufacturing; Transport & Storage; and Information & Communication sectors all 60%+ citing lack of skills. Work experience 17% of companies in GM offer paid work experience. 25% of GM firms offer unpaid work experience.

Apprenticeships

Access to finance 15% of firms had sought finance in the last 12 months. Main reasons:

Access to finance  63% of firms who had difficulty accessing finance were looking for loans up to £100,000.  21% of firms looking to finance long-term growth, would look for finance from local & central government. 7% would use venture capital or business angels to support growth. Improving credit conditions Specialist finance  34% of firms who sought finance reported experiencing difficulties (49% in 2012).  Sectors reporting difficulties, concentrated in general services; construction; digital; transport & storage

Innovation

Access to international markets  Export intensive sectors : manufacturing; transport & storage; info & comms.  Main export market: Europe, followed by North America, Other Asia Pacific and China. Propensity to export  11.2% of firms in GM export (12.9% in 2012).  UK Business Barometer – national average of 21%.  Additional 5% of GM businesses plan to engage in international trade in future.  Main barriers: regulation/legal requirements; political risks; and language/cultural barriers. Future export growth Sectors and markets

Issues to consider (1) Most firms only use one form of support – scope to increase referrals between public and private sector providers. Business Growth Importance of apprenticeships and work experience – using devolution deal to support growth and address productivity gap. Skills Stimulating higher levels of innovation and R&D – raising the appetite for innovation. Innovation

Issues to consider (2) Finance gap still exists – scope to develop niche products or targeted campaigns aimed at areas where there appear to be particular market failures (for example, innovation & exports). Finance Most firms don’t export and are not thinking of doing so – need for broad-based awareness raising and outreach and “myth busting” to firms that don’t currently have an interest in exporting. Exports

T: +44 (0) E: Thank you