It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Andrew Bridge, Managing Partner at property consultancy Fisher German.
Despite a challenging picture for businesses following the Budget in October, there will still be potential for growth in 2025.
The recent NPPF reforms were welcome, but it remains to be seen how effective it will be in delivering the housing the country needs. Inflation and interest rates may continue to slow down the residential market, with the cost of borrowing being a major factor in successful transactions.
Commercial growth may also be hindered by a lack of land supply and reliable grid connections, making it difficult for companies to expand.
However, the rise in national insurance contributions, while challenging for many businesses, could actually result in opportunities for further work.
The National Wealth Fund, a government initiative set up to attract private investment in clean energy and growth industries, is set to invest a further £5.8bn of capital into these projects during this Parliament, which the increase in NICs should help pay for.
Whether directly or indirectly, the private sector will be able to contribute to the delivery of these large-scale projects and benefit as a result.
Beyond this, businesses will increasingly look to AI to solve their productivity issues, with early adopters likely to reap the most rewards.
And looking further ahead into 2026, a planned amendment to banking regulations could free up further access to loans for SMEs and infrastructure projects, with the potential to stimulate property prices.
