Almost nine in 10 (89%) private business owners in the East Midlands are confident of delivering growth in 2025, according to KPMG UK’s first ever Private Enterprise Barometer.
The new poll gauged optimism among 1,500 private business owners, including 126 in the East Midlands, across a range of sectors including professional services, finance, technology, industrial manufacturing and retail.
Increased demand for products and services was identified as the main reason for this confident outlook – cited by more than half (55%) of respondents. Looking ahead, almost three quarters of businesses (72%) in the region have plans to diversify through new products or services in the next five years.
Plans to target international expansion are a lower priority, however, with only 52% of businesses citing this as a key diversification strategy, 11 points below the national average of 63%.
Elsewhere, investment into technology and more specifically AI is a key priority for firms across the East Midlands, with seven in 10 (70%) respondents citing this as the main area of technology they would be looking to invest in in the future.
This investment into AI will support firms across the region to improve customer experience, with two-thirds (66%) of respondents citing this as a key priority.
Securing and developing the necessary skills for businesses to capitalise on these opportunities also remains a key priority for the region though.
Businesses across the East Midlands are generally optimistic about their ability to do this, with almost three in five (59%) expressing confidence in their ability to recruit people with the right qualifications and experience for their businesses – ahead of the national average (55%).
With fewer than a fifth (14%) of firms having difficulty accessing funding, it’s notable that internally generated funds and private equity were seen as the most popular sources of funding to support long-term diversification, ahead of bank debt.
Marc Abrams, Nottingham Office Senior Partner at KPMG UK, said: “Emerging from what many businesses will have experienced as a challenging year, it’s heartening to see that private firms in the East Midlands are optimistic about their 2025 growth prospects.
“Predominantly driven by an increased demand for their products and services, many are primed to make their expansion ambitions a reality in 2025.
“While upskilling continues to be a preoccupation for the region’s businesses, it’s heartening to see that the majority are confident in their ability to address this shortfall through recruitment, feeding into a wider picture of positivity among private business leaders.”
