German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce: Results of the Spring Survey 2023

17 April 2023

Despite a flatlining economy, the sentiments in the German-British business community in the UK have improved significantly.

According to our Spring Survey, the outlook for the German-British business community shows a significantly more positive picture than six months ago.

Currently, 55% view their own operations as performing positively or very positively. Their outlook for the coming 12 months has developed in line with these figures, suggesting that overall companies are managing the current challenges well. For these reasons, one third of companies plan to increase their investment and an even higher share (46%) expect to employ more staff.

Assessing the development of the UK economy as a whole, firms still take a much more cautious view: only 23% expect the UK economy to perform better over the coming twelve months, with 37% expecting it to perform worse.

The shortage of skills, partly as a result of the new immigration rules, is the largest challenge for companies with the other administrative hurdles as a result of Brexit ranking second. Concerns around energy costs are still high up on the agenda, but the supply chain pressures on businesses seem to be easing, creating less cause for concern than six months ago. It appears to be more important for businesses to develop new markets than to adjust supply chains.

The recently concluded Windsor Framework is generally expected to lead to some improvement in the economic and political relationship between the EU and the UK, but only few (2%) expect it to have any significant effect on their business activities in the UK.

With regard to long-term geopolitical challenges, inflationary pressures are expected to continue to be an issue in the years to come. This is followed by political “interference” and cyber security threats. Somewhat unexpectedly, only around 20% view climate change as a major geopolitical challenge.

Dr Ulrich Hoppe, Director General of the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce, commented, "The survey results suggest that the German-British business community is not immune to global trends, but it continues to navigate the current challenges well.”

57 online interviews were conducted with members of the German-British business community with UK operations. The study was part of the World Business Outlook and conducted in conjunction with the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). Fieldwork was conducted between 3 and 6 April 2023. The full results can be found here.

Kindly supplied by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK)

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