Bradford SMEs lead the way for UK exports                      

Bradford is leading the way for UK exports, with a greater percentage of SMEs exporting goods or services than any other city in the country.

Data released last week from the ‘FedEx Express: UK Export Epicentres Report’ shows a total of 86% of SMEs in Bradford were involved in exporting last year.

Through critical assessment of perceived image, reputation and geographical location of 26 cities across the UK, the study serves to paint a more vivid picture of the regional factors that come into play when trading overseas. 

Leeds, London, Manchester and Southampton followed Bradford in second place, with 81% of SMEs exporting last year.

Tim Bailey, director of Chamber International, said: “Bradford has a long history of trading on its culture of enterprise.

“From being once famous for its wool exports the city has become a diverse £8.3bn economy with a booming electronics cluster and businesses in engineering, chemicals and printing operating globally.

“The growing digital dimension to selling overseas is bringing the city’s new start businesses to export earlier.”

However, three cities were three times more likely than average to say their geographical location was a hindrance on international trade, Newcastle (16%), Hull (14%) and Norwich (13%).

94% of SMEs feel optimistic about the year ahead for their business with 8 in 10 believing their export sales will increase again over the next 12 months.

The top three cities most likely to export to non-European markets are Aberdeen (41%), Norwich (39%) and Cambridge (36%).

The table below highlights the performance of each of the 26 city’s included in the study:

Exporting Rates by City

% of SMEs

Bradford

86

Leeds, London, Manchester, Southampton

81

Belfast

79

Oxford

78

Leicester, Birmingham

77

Cambridge

76

Bristol, Derby, Portsmouth, Plymouth

75

Liverpool

73

Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Norwich, Nottingham    

72

Milton Keynes

71

Cardiff, Hull

70

Glasgow, Sheffield

68

Coventry

67

Newcastle

66

   

Source: BQ

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