Captains of Industry Survey
The Eurozone is the biggest issue facing Britain today according to the 2011 Captains of Industry Survey carried out by Ipsos. This was the top mention when Captains were asked about the most important issues, followed closely by the Government budget deficit, lack of economic growth and unemployment.
These issues are reflected in Captains’ expectations for the general economic condition of the country over the next 12 months with 56% saying the economy will get worse and only 9% thinking it will improve.
However, the outlook for their own companies is not so bleak, with a smaller proportion (15%) expecting things to get worse for their company over the next 12 months.
Support for the UK Government
A high proportion continues to support the UK Government with 84% agreeing that in the long term the current Government’s policies will improve the British economy.
Despite the Government’s promise to decrease regulation, the majority (88%) believe that the present level of regulation is harming the UK economy and over half (55%) believe that the level of regulation affecting UK business has increased over the past year.
Two in five (42%) feel the Government has too much involvement in business and industry at the moment.
Pressures facing business
The most important problems facing Captains’ businesses are the general economic uncertainty and changes in consumer spending and demand.
Among those who said that they changed their product offering last year, the most common change was reducing the price of their products or offering lower cost alternatives. However, the majority of all Captains do not plan on making any changes to their product offering over the next year suggesting that these lower cost alternatives will be the focus for a while longer.
The UK proves more popular than the Eurozone
The USA currently offers the best environment for business in the current climate according to the 2011 Captains of Industry Survey carried out by Ipsos Loyalty. This was the top mention (28%), with China proving popular in 2nd (16%).
The UK offers the best environment for business in Europe (15%), with only 6% opting for Germany, the only country in the Eurozone mentioned by Captains of Industry.
Just over half (51%) agree the UK is currently an attractive place to invest, in fact, the UK proves to be the most attractive in Europe. 10% of Captains of Industry believe the UK is the most attractive country for investment, compared to only 4% opting for Germany. Again, Germany is the only country in the Eurozone mentioned.
Over half (53%) agree the Euro currency will survive the current European Sovereign debt crisis.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:
"Whilst it is incredibly tough out there for so many it has been essential to cut our cloth accordingly. We simply cannot saddle our children and grandchildren with rising, unmanageable debt for decades to come. However now is also the time that businesses can play their part in helping to build a skilled workforce and many are already on the case. Right now thousands of apprentices are being created every month but we still need businesses from every sector across the land to follow suit to ensure UK PLC emerges from the downturn highly competitive and ready for battle in the global market."
Technical note
Established in 1981 and conducted on an annual basis, the Ipsos Captains of Industry survey is the authoritative view of senior business opinion in Great Britain today. 100 interviews were carried out with respondents selected from the FTSE 350, and top 100 by capital employed. Respondents are Chairman, CEO, MD/COO, FD or other board directors. Interviews were carried out face to face (6 were carried out by telephone) between 12th September and 21st December 2011.
