Inder ‘recognises concerns' as directors turn negative

Results from the first directors’ economic confidence survey were published yesterday and showed that business leaders felt confident in their own organisation’s prospects over the next 12 months, but there were concerns about the overall outlook.

‘There are lots of positives, with respondents feeling optimistic about the prospects of their own businesses and looking to employ and invest over the next 12 months,’ said IoD Guernsey’s economic lead Richard Hemans.

‘While the overall view of the Guernsey economy is negative, the other responses indicate some confidence and positive, if muted, economic growth over the next 12 months. The negative impacts reported are not new news, but clearly need to be addressed with urgency.’

Economic Development president Neil Inder said he recognised the concerns raised by business leaders.

‘Many of the key concerns they highlight such as travel links, attracting skilled staff and housing are priorities for the States and issues we are actively addressing,’ he said.

‘I am however encouraged that the vast majority of respondents are optimistic about their own organisation over the next 12 months, and have positive expectations in terms of levels of investment, revenue and job growth. I think that in itself speaks to reasons for being more confident about the island’s economy as a whole.’

He said the committee was tendering for sea links, while P&R was exploring investing in Leale’s Yard for housing.

‘The people of Guernsey don’t want to hear about another policy and another review, neither I do,’ said Deputy Inder.

‘The failure in housing is simply that there aren’t enough of them; the Policy & Resources Committee has put housing as central to their success as we head towards an election, and I’m confident they will deliver on his key policy.

‘But we also need to invest more in our island, not just in housing, but in our infrastructure and public space.’

More than 20% of IoD’s membership responded to the survey, with financial services dominating the sectors responding.

The responses show a -18% net positive sentiment about Guernsey’s economy over the next 12 months, with the highest proportion saying they feel ‘quite pessimistic’.

Fewer than a quarter of industry sectors represented in the survey felt optimistic about the local economy.

Local opinion about the island’s economy is less optimistic than the results of a similar survey in the UK, which came out at -3% positive.

Local business leaders said they felt confident about their own organisation’s prospects, with a +47% net positive response and the majority saying they were ‘quite optimistic’. The UK figure was +41%.

Leaders’ positivity in their own organisation’s prospects was backed up with a +30% response about increasing revenue over the next 12 months.

The full survey results can be found the IoD’s website.

n The figures are calculated by the number of positive responses, less negative responses, expressed as a percentage of total respondents.