Exeter Business Survey Results – September 2011 - Exeter Chamber of Commerce and Industry - supporting your business

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Exeter Business Survey Results – September 2011

Summer sales stagnate

Exeter Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported the findings of the latest Exeter Business Survey to the Bank of England on Thursday.   The survey, collated to identify the current economic conditions for Exeter and its sub-region, showed that businesses are finding conditions tough. 

Chamber members reporting increased sales were the lowest recorded for more than two years and a quarter of respondents said that sales had fallen over the summer period.   Margins too were shown to be under pressure with more members reporting reduced margins this quarter than since September 2009.  This pressure on sales and margins, and perhaps the huge number of ‘doom and gloom' media reports currently circulating, has resulted in a drop in confidence - over 86% of those surveyed reported either low or medium confidence.

Despite this, the number of businesses taking on additional employees was the highest it has been for many years and only 8% of respondents thought that they would need to downsize in the coming three months.  In addition, over 75% of Chamber members surveyed stated that they were intending to invest in their business over the next quarter.

Derek Phillips said "The survey results indicate that businesses are currently experiencing the most difficult trading conditions in 2 years.  However, Exeter and our members appear resilient and their continued investment shows that they are looking towards a better future."

Business leaders from a range of sectors including Banking, Travel, Residential and Commercial Property, Agriculture, Financial Services, Retail and Manufacturing summarised their experiences of business conditions over the past quarter during the meeting, leading to a consensus that though trading had been more difficult than perhaps anticipated earlier in the year, Exeter was performing comparatively well.  For example; in the retail sector the City's vacant unit rate currently stands at 7.4% against a national average of between 10 and 14%.

Gareth Ramsay, Head of Inflation Report and Bulletin Division at the Bank of England paid travelled to Exeter in order to attend the meeting and said "I found the meeting extremely interesting and informative and was able to take some useful messages back to the Bank of England's Head Office."

Exeter Business Survey, Sept 2011

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