Businesses prepare for a different era

The Connecting Leeds survey, carried out at a Barclays event for businesses held at the Royal Armouries, found that 44 per cent of respondents believe competition in their industry is set to increase post-recession, including 19 per cent who expect their sector to be "much more competitive".

Growing demand for products or services already being sold was identified as the number one focus for 44 per cent of Leeds businesses, compared with just 27 per cent focusing on managing cashflow and 21 per cent concerned with retaining talent.

There is also a significant proportion of Leeds businesses preparing for an environment where demand for their products does not reach pre-recession levels.

Half of business leaders believe consumer demand and business-to-business demand will not exceed pre-credit crunch levels for the foreseeable future.

Lee Collinson, Barclays' head of corporate in Yorkshire, said: "Many progressive companies have found innovative routes to offshore markets, where in many cases demand for consumer and commercial goods has picked up quicker than in the UK. However, more needs to be done to fuel and maintain long-term demand in the domestic market."

On a positive note, nearly three-quarters of Leeds businesses claimed innovation has either continued as normal or that the pace of innovation increased in the recession.