BUSINESS confidence is starting to return to the North-East as more enterprises expect to grow in the next 12 months, research has revealed.

Almost half of North-East businesses, 46.6 per cent, questioned in Yorkshire Bank’s latest business confidence survey, said that they are either confident or very confident of growing by summer next year.

The research also reveals that 35.6 per cent of firms believe they will continue to operate at current levels, while 15.8 per cent anticipate a reduction in their business.

Only 2.8 per cent fear that they may go out of business in the next 12 months.

Richard Norrington, Yorkshire Bank’s east region director for integrated financial solutions, said: “These figures are promising.

“They appear to indicate that a growing number of North-East businesses are more confident and are starting to explore opportunities to develop and grow.

“This is encouraging as where confidence exists, growth often follows.

“It has clearly been a challenging time for businesses and conditions will remain tough for some time.

“While it remains important for businesses to remain realistic, a growing number will be looking at how they can take advantage of emerging market opportunities.”

In spite of signs of returning confidence, the research also showed that times remain tough, with only 19.8 per cent of North-East companies saying that business is getting easier.