Business confidence in Yorkshire rose 22 points during February to 34% – 13 points higher than the UK average – according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.  Companies in Yorkshire reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 17 points at 37%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up 29 points to 32%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 34%.   Yorkshire businesses identified their top target areas for growth in the next six months as evolving their offering (42%), hiring new employees or investing in training (38%), and diversifying into adjacent markets or exporting to new markets (36%). The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.

A net balance of 41% of businesses in the region expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up 15 points on last month. Overall UK business confidence decreased by just one point to 21% in February. Firms remained positive about their own trading prospects with a net balance of 31% expecting business activity to increase in the coming 12 months. Firms also reported plans to create new jobs with 20% of businesses intending to make new hires over the next 12 months – up three points from January. All UK regions and nations reported a positive confidence reading in February, with six areas reporting a month-on-month increase in confidence. Of those, the West Midlands (up 30 points to 48%) and Yorkshire and Humber saw the largest monthly increases. Steve Harris, regional director for Yorkshire at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It’s fantastic to see business confidence in the region has risen again with firms reporting the highest levels of overall confidence since May last year. “Economic headwinds persist, but it’s encouraging to see that businesses are showing resilience and going after ambitious growth plans to boost their own trading prospects. 
  
“We’ll continue to stand side by side with businesses as they focus on opportunities for growth over the coming months.” Retail confidence bounced back, rising for the first time in three months to 21% (up 14 points), led by improvements in both trading prospects and economic optimism. However, business confidence fell in construction (down eight points to 19%) and services (down five points to 20%) although this remains higher than in the latter part of 2022. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Business confidence has lost a little momentum this month, following the strong gains seen recently. Firms are feeling more cautious about the wider economy. However, confidence in their own trading prospects continues to strengthen, helped by tentative signs that wage and other cost pressures may be reducing. “While inflation appears to be tapering, pressures on consumers will need to ease further to help make it a more stable environment for businesses to operate.”

Former apprentice Chris Turner has been appointed as the new Managing Director of modular construction specialist Integra Buildings. Mr Turner, who joined East Yorkshire-based Integra as an apprentice, has progressed over 20 years from an entry level role to now take on day-to-day leadership of the fast-growing business. Having been promoted from Commercial Director, he will take the company forward with a strong pipeline of projects and ambitious growth plans. Former MD Gary Parker, who co-founded Integra 25 years ago, has become CEO in the restructure, with a new remit to focus on strategic opportunities. Mr Parker has led the development of the company from a start-up business employing a handful of people to a significant employer in the Humber region, delivering high-profile, multi-disciplinary projects across the UK. Based at Paull, east of Hull, Integra employs 160 people and provides a range of modular and anti-vandal solutions for sectors including construction, education, health, sport and commercial. Mr Turner, who is 42, has been named as MD just weeks after Integra became one of fewer than 30 companies to be named on a new £10bn government framework to drive investment in modular and offsite construction. Being appointed as a supplier on the Offsite Construction Solutions framework means Integra can tender for significant public sector projects across the education, justice and defence sectors, creating a strong pipeline of work for the company over coming years. Mr Turner said: “Becoming Managing Director is not something I could ever have expected when I joined the business 20 years ago, but I’m excited to take on the challenge. “It’s also great that I will still be working closely with Gary in his new role. We have a shared vision for the further growth of the business and the continued evolution of our products. “The modular construction sector has seen phenomenal growth over recent years and we’ve grown at an even faster rate. We see no reason for that to change, because modular building has so many advantages over traditional construction and is inherently more sustainable. “We’re very well placed to continue to out-perform the market with our excellent team, strong pipeline of projects and exceptional track record of project delivery.” Mr Turner studied Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Humberside University before joining Integra in 2003 as an Apprentice Technical Draughtsman. He became Estimating Manager and Commercial Manager before being appointed as Commercial Director in 2012. Since then, Integra’s turnover has trebled from £14m to £42m in 2022. Mr Turner joined Mr Parker and Paul Tansey as a shareholder in the business last year, ahead of the planned leadership restructure. In his new role as CEO, Mr Parker will remain fully committed to the business and focus on strategic developments, opportunities to extend the scope of the business, and potential acquisitions. He will also lead a project to expand the Integra site at Paull, to create more production and storage space to support the company’s growing project portfolio. Mr Parker said: “This feels like the right time to hand over the day-to-day running of the business to Chris and to reward him for the outstanding contribution he has made to our growth and development. “Chris brings proven capability and commercial expertise to the role. He is loyal, hard-working, experienced and also highly respected, within the business and outside it with our clients and partners. “We’re proud that a homegrown talent has become our new MD. It’s a brilliant demonstration of our commitment to developing our people throughout the business and giving them the opportunity to grow with us.” With Mr Parker now CEO, Mr Turner is supported as MD by fellow members of the senior leadership team – Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) Director Paul Tansey; Operations Director Jim Butler; Technical Director Mike Marriott; and Finance Director Sarah Marshall.

The Government has been urged to press ahead with plans to bring a host of benefits to hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses in North Yorkshire through a much-anticipated devolution deal. Members have backed proposals at a full council meeting (on Friday, 24 February) to send the results of a public consultation to Ministers to progress plans to create a mayoral combined authority. Residents, businesses and charity and voluntary organisations took part in the consultation in York and North Yorkshire to gather the public’s views on the proposed devolution deal, which would give more funding and far greater decision-making powers to the region. Most respondents were generally in favour of the proposed governance of the devolution deal, with organisations including the Tees Valley Combined Authority, the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the Yorkshire Food, Farming and Rural Network recognising that it is a tried and tested model for building strong local leadership with new powers. The plans for devolution, which is a key policy under the Government’s levelling up agenda, are set to bring wide-ranging benefits to the 615,000 residents and more than 32,000 businesses in North Yorkshire, including new jobs, more affordable housing and measures to tackle climate change. Following support from the public for the proposed deal, it is hoped that a combined authority, which would be responsible for overseeing devolved decision-making powers and millions of pounds of funding for both York and North Yorkshire, will be established later this year. Mayoral elections would follow in 2024. Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “The decision by members at full council today represents the latest milestone in the journey to bringing devolution to North Yorkshire. “The benefits of devolution are clearly evident elsewhere in Yorkshire, and we are committed to making sure that North Yorkshire is also given the chance to see the real opportunities that decision-making on a far more local level would bring. “I would urge Ministers to progress plans following the support that devolution has received from the public. The creation of a mayoral combined authority later this year would then help pave the way for what I do believe is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring devolution to North Yorkshire which will help transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.” The combined authority is set to be overseen by an elected mayor, co-ordinating key strategic projects ranging from major transport improvements and boosting skills and education to providing more affordable housing in York and North Yorkshire. The mayor would act as an influential figurehead for York and North Yorkshire, developing close links with the Government to secure more funding and decision-making powers as the devolution deal evolves over the coming years. The public consultation was conducted in North Yorkshire under the Let’s Talk banner, which asked for people’s views on the proposed devolution deal. People were also asked how the new North Yorkshire Council, which will launch on April 1, will serve local communities and as well as its financial priorities. A total of 1,943 people completed the survey in full for the devolution element of the public consultation, expressing views on a range of topics including housing, transport, skills and employment and climate change. The response rate is understood to have compared favourably to other devolution engagement campaigns with the public elsewhere in the country. The eight-week consultation ran until 16 December, and views were gathered through face-to-face engagement events, an online survey and via letters and emails. A total of 54% of respondents online either strongly supported or supported the proposed governance of the mayoral combined authority, while 32% were opposed or strongly opposed with the remainder not expressing a view or stating they did not know. Work to curb climate change that is due to be introduced through devolution was welcomed, especially to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well as promoting more sustainable transport. A total of 63% of respondents online either strongly supported or supported plans for the proposed combined authority to work with the Government on climate change, while 23% were opposed or strongly opposed with the remainder not expressing a view or stating they did not know. Cllr Les, who will assume the leadership of North Yorkshire Council from 1 April, stressed that the mayor is due to be elected by residents of York and North Yorkshire so they would be directly accountable to the electorate at the ballot box. Their activities would also be scrutinised by an overview and scrutiny committee. Cllr Les added: “It would be vital that the mayoral combined authority would work closely with both the new North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council to listen and ensure the views and priorities of communities and businesses across the whole area are represented.” Members of City of York Council agreed on Thursday (23 February) to send the results of the public engagement to the Government to consider creating the mayoral combined authority for York and North Yorkshire.