Barometer results point to positivity for Swansea businesses

The results of Swansea Bay Business Club’s latest Business Barometer has shown that businesses across Swansea Bay continue to remain confident for the third quarter of 2017.

39 per cent of businesses surveyed said that they had performed stronger over the last three months compared to the quarter preceding it, and a further 35 per cent of respondents surveyed said that they were optimistic their business would perform stronger again over the coming three months. Not one of the businesses surveyed believed that they would perform weaker.

The Business Barometer survey, which was designed by Swansea Bay Business Club to monitor the performance and attitudes of local businesses towards the economy, also showed that 30 per cent of businesses expected an increase in their profitability over the next three months whilst 39 per cent expected an increase in capital investment.

Hayley Davies, President of Swansea Bay Business Club, said: “It is always interesting to get the results back from our Business Barometer and see how businesses are performing across the board. Following the recent news that the City Deal is set to bring an estimated 10,000 jobs to the city, this could be the reason for our members’ optimism, and it is pleasing to see that businesses across the region are confident about what the future holds.”

Bruce Roberts, Chair of the club’s Business Analysis Group, commented: “Our findings this quarter are another good reflection of the success of local businesses. Whilst it is great to see over 30 per cent of businesses expecting an increase in profitability over the next quarter, it is equally pleasing to see that an impressive 65 per cent of businesses expect the same levels of performance, suggesting stability and safety.”

Swansea Bay Business Club’s next event is a business breakfast at St Bride’s Hotel in Pembrokeshire, with guest speaker Glyn Jones, Managing Director of Princes Gate Cool Water. This will be followed by a lunch at the Village Hotel in SA1 on September 22 with guest speaker, Julie Gardner, co-founder of television production company, Bad Wolf and former Head of Drama at BBC Wales.