The future prospects of the regional, national and global economy were on the agenda at a special event held by the North East arm of insolvency trade body R3.Andrew Hebden, deputy agent for The Bank of England in the North East, was invited to be guest speaker at R3 North East’s quarterly member meeting, which was hosted by KPMG at their offices in Newcastle.
Topics covered included demand and output, credit conditions, the labour and housing markets, productivity levels and the expected future directions of the Consumer Price Index and the Bank of England’s own base interest rate.
North East England has achieved the fastest growing levels of productivity over the last six years of any part of the UK, with official data suggesting a 13 per cent improvement since 2009 compared with the national average of just over eight per cent.
Andrew Hebden says: “The role of the Bank’s Agency network is to engage with a wide range of business leaders and representatives from professional services, so this was a good opportunity to talk to, and hear from, those working in the insolvency sector in the North East.
“The relatively low level of insolvencies has been a defining feature of the recent recession and subsequent recovery and it is important for the Bank to understand what has been behind that trend. Our conversations with members of R3 give us a valuable insight into this as well as getting a better sense of wider economic conditions.”
R3 promotes best practice for insolvency professionals working with financially troubled individuals and businesses, and its North East members are drawn from most of the region’s best-known professional services firms.
Neil Harrold, vice chair of R3 in the North East and a partner at Hay & Kilner Solicitors, adds: “The outlook for the economy at every level impacts directly on the fortunes and prospects of the companies with which our members work to help identify ways in which they can work their way towards a sustainable commercial future.
“Andrew’s insight, knowledge and advice will prove extremely useful to them and we’re grateful to him for taking the time to speak at our event.”