Firms across Coventry and Warwickshire have met the Bank of England to give their take on the state of the economy.
Ten businesses met Graeme Chaplin, the Bank of England’s agent for the West Midlands and Oxfordshire, at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce in order to provide insight on the issues facing business and how much they expect to grow over the next 12 months.
The meeting helps to inform the Bank of England when, among other things, it comes to set interest rates which have been at a record low of 0.5 per cent for almost seven years.
Chaplin meets the Chamber twice a year to help build a regional picture and Angela Tellyn, policy and partnership manager at the Chamber, said it offered a very useful insight.
She said: “The detail of the meeting is very much private because businesses want to be able to talk candidly and openly to give Graeme a very real and honest view of the situation.
“The general feeling is that the economy will continue to grow but there are some areas of concern that could hinder that. Skills and the general labour market was one of those as well as, still, the hesitancy of banks to lend in certain sectors.
“Infrastructure and the real need to get goods and people moving around the country better was another topic.
“I know Graeme found the meeting extremely useful and will use the feedback to help inform colleagues at the Bank of England.”