Chamber Quarterly Business Report Q4 2024

Have Your Say

Thank you for contributing towards the Chamber Quarterly Business Report, ran in partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Council. This survey requires no detailed information about your company, only broad trends, and all responses will remain anonymous.

If based at your head office, please answer for the whole UK operation.

Question Title

* 1. How many people does your business employ?
(Estimate if not known; sole trader = 1)

Question Title

* 2. What area is your business located in? (Tick all that apply)

West Cheshire

North Wales

East Cheshire

Other

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. Which is the most appropriate category for your business?

Question Title

* 4. UK and overseas markets
Excluding seasonal variations, over the past three months...

	increased	remained constant	decreased
UK sales/custom/bookings have...	UK sales/custom/bookings have... increased	UK sales/custom/bookings have... remained constant	UK sales/custom/bookings have... decreased
UK orders/advance custom/bookings have...	UK orders/advance custom/bookings have... increased	UK orders/advance custom/bookings have... remained constant	UK orders/advance custom/bookings have... decreased
Overseas sales/custom/bookings have...	Overseas sales/custom/bookings have... increased	Overseas sales/custom/bookings have... remained constant	Overseas sales/custom/bookings have... decreased
Overseas orders/advance custom/bookings have...	Overseas orders/advance custom/bookings have... increased	Overseas orders/advance custom/bookings have... remained constant	Overseas orders/advance custom/bookings have... decreased

Question Title

* 5. LABOUR FORCE

	increased	remained constant	decreased
Over the past three months, has your workforce	Over the past three months, has your workforce increased	Over the past three months, has your workforce remained constant	Over the past three months, has your workforce decreased
Over the next three months, do you expect your workforce to	Over the next three months, do you expect your workforce to increased	Over the next three months, do you expect your workforce to remained constant	Over the next three months, do you expect your workforce to decreased

Question Title

* 6. RECRUITMENT

	Yes	No
Have you attempted to recruit staff over the past 3 months?	Have you attempted to recruit staff over the past 3 months? Yes	Have you attempted to recruit staff over the past 3 months? No

Question Title

* 7. If yes,

	part-time jobs?	full-time jobs?	temporary jobs?	permanent jobs?
were they for	were they for part-time jobs?	were they for full-time jobs?	were they for temporary jobs?	were they for permanent jobs?

Question Title

* 8. RECRUITMENT

	Yes	No
Did you experience any difficulties finding suitable staff?	Did you experience any difficulties finding suitable staff? Yes	Did you experience any difficulties finding suitable staff? No

Question Title

* 9. If yes,

	Skilled manual/Technical	Professional/Managerial	Clerical	Un and semi-skilled
for which of the following categories of employee?	for which of the following categories of employee? Skilled manual/Technical	for which of the following categories of employee? Professional/Managerial	for which of the following categories of employee? Clerical	for which of the following categories of employee? Un and semi-skilled

Please specify the job title for the role

Question Title

* 10. CASH FLOW AND INVESTMENT

	Increased	Remained Constant	Decreased
Over the past 3 months, cash flow has...	Over the past 3 months, cash flow has... Increased	Over the past 3 months, cash flow has... Remained Constant	Over the past 3 months, cash flow has... Decreased
Over the past 3 months, investment plans for plant/machinery/equipment have...	Over the past 3 months, investment plans for plant/machinery/equipment have... Increased	Over the past 3 months, investment plans for plant/machinery/equipment have... Remained Constant	Over the past 3 months, investment plans for plant/machinery/equipment have... Decreased
Over the past 3 months, investment plans for training have...	Over the past 3 months, investment plans for training have... Increased	Over the past 3 months, investment plans for training have... Remained Constant	Over the past 3 months, investment plans for training have... Decreased

Question Title

* 11. BUSINESS CONFIDENCE

	Improve	Remain the same	Worsen
Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's turnover will...	Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's turnover will... Improve	Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's turnover will... Remain the same	Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's turnover will... Worsen
Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's profitability will...	Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's profitability will... Improve	Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's profitability will... Remain the same	Over the next 12 months, do you believe your business's profitability will... Worsen

Question Title

* 12. CAPACITY

	Full capacity	Below capacity
Are you currently operating at...	Are you currently operating at... Full capacity	Are you currently operating at... Below capacity

Question Title

* 13. PRICES

	Increase	Remain the same	Decrease
Over the next 3 months, do you expect the price of your goods/services to...	Over the next 3 months, do you expect the price of your goods/services to... Increase	Over the next 3 months, do you expect the price of your goods/services to... Remain the same	Over the next 3 months, do you expect the price of your goods/services to... Decrease

Question Title

* 14. PRICES

	Labour costs (e.g. salaries, pay settlements, contractors)	Raw materials (e.g. steel, cardboard, food)	Utilities (e.g. gas, electricity)	Fuel (e.g. petrol, diesel)	Finance costs	Other Overheads
Is your business facing pressure to raise prices from any of the following sources? (please tick all that apply)	Is your business facing pressure to raise prices from any of the following sources? (please tick all that apply) Labour costs (e.g. salaries, pay settlements, contractors)	Is your business facing pressure to raise prices from any of the following sources? (please tick all that apply) Raw materials (e.g. steel, cardboard, food)	Is your business facing pressure to raise prices from any of the following sources? (please tick all that apply) Utilities (e.g. gas, electricity)	Is your business facing pressure to raise prices from any of the following sources? (please tick all that apply) Fuel (e.g. petrol, diesel)	Is your business facing pressure to raise prices from any of the following sources? (please tick all that apply) Finance costs	Is your business facing pressure to raise prices from any of the following sources? (please tick all that apply) Other Overheads

Question Title

* 15. EXTERNAL FACTORS

	Interest Rates	Exchange Rates	Business Rates	Inflation	Competition	Corporate Tax
Please indicate which of these following factors are more of a concern to your business.	Please indicate which of these following factors are more of a concern to your business. Interest Rates	Please indicate which of these following factors are more of a concern to your business. Exchange Rates	Please indicate which of these following factors are more of a concern to your business. Business Rates	Please indicate which of these following factors are more of a concern to your business. Inflation	Please indicate which of these following factors are more of a concern to your business. Competition	Please indicate which of these following factors are more of a concern to your business. Corporate Tax

Question Title

* 16. Feel free to share any feedback about business or economic conditions in the previous three months

Question Title

* 17. Would you like to speak about your results in our Chamber magazine?

	Yes	No
If you tick “Yes” you could be selected to take part in a free half-page feature looking at your response to this survey.	If you tick “Yes” you could be selected to take part in a free half-page feature looking at your response to this survey. Yes	If you tick “Yes” you could be selected to take part in a free half-page feature looking at your response to this survey. No

If yes please supply your email address:

Question Title

* 1. How many people does your business employ? (Estimate if not known; sole trader = 1)

Question Title

* 2. What area is your business located in? (Tick all that apply)

Question Title

* 3. Which is the most appropriate category for your business?

Question Title

* 4. UK and overseas marketsExcluding seasonal variations, over the past three months...

Question Title

* 5. LABOUR FORCE

Question Title

* 6. RECRUITMENT

Question Title

* 7. If yes,

Question Title

* 8. RECRUITMENT

Question Title

* 9. If yes,

Question Title

* 10. CASH FLOW AND INVESTMENT

Question Title

* 11. BUSINESS CONFIDENCE

Question Title

* 12. CAPACITY

Question Title

* 13. PRICES

Question Title

* 14. PRICES

Question Title

* 15. EXTERNAL FACTORS

Question Title

* 16. Feel free to share any feedback about business or economic conditions in the previous three months

Question Title

* 17. Would you like to speak about your results in our Chamber magazine?

* 1. How many people does your business employ?
(Estimate if not known; sole trader = 1)

* 4. UK and overseas markets
Excluding seasonal variations, over the past three months...