Business and Tax Advice for Manufacturers

There remains a strong perception in the public mind, often fuelled by the media, that the UK just doesn’t make anything anymore and we have sub contracted the whole of our manufacturing capacity to China. Well the good news is, it’s just not the case.

According to the Engineering Employers Federation, Economic Prospects Report 2010, the performance of the UK's manufacturing sector has exceeded expectations in the first six months of the year. Significant factors in this performance were a broad-based recovery alongside a growth in world trade; a weak pound and restocking activity. Across all manufacturing sectors, there was a larger percentage increase in exports to the developing economies than developed ones, particularly in transport and metals. This was a reflection of the continuing growth in countries such as Brazil, Russia India and China – a real benefit for UK manufacturers.

The industry trade body estimates that for the full year 2010, UK manufacturing will grow at the rate of 3.8 per cent compared to 1.1 per cent for the rest of the economy. However, spending cuts and austerity measures in the country and abroad could hurt manufacturers in the long term, it said.

In another report, published in august 2010, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that UK manufacturing output rose by 4.1 per cent in June 2010 compared to the same month a year ago. The largest contributors to the increase were the machinery and equipment industries which increased by 12.9 per cent, the transport equipment industries which increased by 9.0 per cent and the basic metal and metal products industries which increased by 9.2 per cent.

All encouraging statistics to prove that manufacturing in the UK is far from dead. Perhaps this is why we are also seeing no slow down in the requirements for us to support our manufacturing clients in Lytham and further afield in Lancashire and the North West. In the manufacturing sector, expert tax advice and business advice are crucial to ensure that our manufacturing clients stay on the growth side of these encouraging statistics.