Business confidence in Yorkshire rose 11 points during February to 40%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds.

Companies in Yorkshire reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 20 points at 55%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up three points to 25%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 40% (vs. 29% in January).

Looking ahead to the next six months, Yorkshire businesses identified their top target areas for growth as evolving their offering, for example by launching new products or services (46%), introducing new technology, such as AI or automation (34%), and investing in their team, for example through training (34%).

The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly and which has been running since 2002, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.

National picture

Overall, UK business confidence was unchanged since January at 44%.

Firms’ confidence in their own trading prospects fell six points to 53%, but their optimism in the wider economy rose eight points to 36%.

London was the most confident UK nation or region in February (59%), followed by the North West (58%) and Northern Ireland (58%).


Sector Insights

The construction sector saw strong gains in overall confidence. In February, confidence was up 14 points to 60%, with manufacturing also seeing a boost, up five points to 37%. Confidence for retail and service sector firms softened slightly, each down two and three points respectively.

Martyn Kendrick

It’s particularly encouraging to see this rise driven by greater confidence from Yorkshire firms in their own trading prospects. As firms look ahead to new opportunities, we’ll continue to be there with our support.

Hann-Ju Ho, Senior Economist, Lloyds Commercial Banking, said: “It’s encouraging to see optimism in the wider economy returning, although with a small reduction in firms’ confidence in their own trading prospects. The majority of the survey results were collected following the Bank of England’s close decision to hold interest rates at its February meeting, signalling potential easing ahead, which may have alleviated business concerns, including those around cost pressures. While the rise in pricing expectations to a six month high may indicate firms are looking to rebuild their margins in 2026.

“It’s also great to see confidence increase for manufacturers and construction firms as they are key for UK growth.”