Despite the economic challenges the UK has faced in recent years, and, of course, is still experiencing, there should be a sense of optimism, especially in this region. According to The Lloyds Bank Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 firms across the economy, business confidence in the UK saw the biggest monthly decline in a year.
However, I am seeing a somewhat different picture here in the North East. I recently attended a business event on Teesside alongside more than 100 business representatives. They were asked if they thought their businesses would be in a better position by the end of 2024 than they are now. A vast majority agreed they would. While it’s a smaller number surveyed, it’s a positive snapshot of the positive attitude that exists in our region.
Furthermore, as a full service law firm which operates in the corporate sector, amongst others, we’re seeing increased deal activity in the region, both from management teams looking to acquire the businesses they currently run, as well as an appetite for inward investment from both trade acquirers and private equity houses that are recognising the value of being part of the North East’s evolving and increasingly diverse economy.
The shifts in our economy are visible across the length of the North East, with emerging sectors either complementing or edging to replace more established and somewhat traditional industries. In the south of the region, on Teesside and in County Durham, there are the first steps being taken to create a new lithium supply chain that will feed the production of electric vehicle batteries in the UK. Lithium has been discovered in the brines that flow under the hills in Weardale, which, when extracted, will be processed by companies, potentially located at Wilton International, which was once a chemical plant and has become home to businesses in the fields of energy generation, plastic recycling and process industry research. This will be an important and vital element of the electrification of transport, something that has been happening in the region for many decades and has accelerated in recent years following the arrival of Nissan.
The region’s automotive industry is orchestrating a remarkable transformation, a shift from the familiar hum of petrol and diesel engines to the silent revolution of electric vehicles. This region, steeped in automotive heritage, now stands at the forefront of sustainable mobility. However, while Nissan’s plant in Sunderland stands as a beacon for the region, creating an agglomeration effect on Wearside through the generation of a localised supply chain, the
area is also at the forefront of pushing new ideas and innovations for electrification and green transport.
Adjacent to Nissan’s plant is the Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialisation Centre, which brings together academia and industry and is a shining example of how a sector can set its own future. This is supported by companies that are looking beyond EV passenger vehicles to the electrification of transport such as trains, marine vehicles and off-highway machinery such as excavators. Of course, the automotive industry isn’t the only sector that has seen a dramatic transformation in the past decade. This region has been at the heart of heavy industry for generations, from coal mining and shipbuilding to oil and gas where 70 percent of North Sea platforms were built in the region.
It is now the turn of the offshore wind industry to take prominence in the North East’s story of being an energy sector leader. It has one of the most established supply chain clusters in the country, Energi Coast, and is seen across the world, as an exemplar of collaboration, expertise and innovation.
As a result of its innovative supply chain, and its ideal geography, the North East has also attracted offshore wind farm developers and operators, which is exemplified by SSE Renewables, Equinor and Vårgrønn, which is the joint venture partnership behind the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, Dogger Bank, 130km off the North East coast. This project has created considerable opportunities for innovative supply chain companies
and is utilising the region’s infrastructure including the Port of Tyne where it has established its operations and maintenance base. This facility also houses the control room that will monitor and manage five percent of the UK’s electricity generating capacity that will be produced by the offshore wind farm.
These industry examples, along with many others from the clean tech sector, digital industry and technology-led service sectors delivered by our skilled and talented working population, are clear reasons to be positive about the future for our region.
And it is this attitude I’d like to see from whoever becomes mayor of the North East at the upcoming election in May. There is sometimes a tendency in this region of looking backwards at our legacy rather than what we are achieving in the here and now. Of course, that’s only natural when you consider the myriad of achievements, be they industrial or cultural, that have come out of the North East.
However, highlighting only our past can give the wrong impression outside of this region of what we are capable of, what we’re achieving and what can be achieved here. We have businesses and sectors that are champions of innovation and they can be supported by a new figurehead in the form of a new North East Mayor that can sell a vision of positivity and success, encourage investment and people retention.
The future is bright for the North East and a collaborative approach between the new mayor and our proactive, innovative and driven business community can put the region on an even stronger footing.