Flintshire and Wrexham amongst the fastest growing economies in Wales latest figures show

Flintshire and Wrexham are amongst the fastest growing regions in Wales economically in the last three months of 2014 says a new report.

The latest RBS Regional growth figures released for Q4  (2104) show the Welsh economy grew by .04% on the previous quarter, slightly below the UK average.

The Welsh economy ended the year around 2.7% compared to the North West at 3.0%, the West Midlands at 2.5% and London at 3.7% growth.

The Isle of Anglesey was the top performer in Wales closely followed by the combined economic region of Flintshire and Wrexham which is estimated to have grown by around 2.9% in 2014.

The slowest growth was seen in Wales cities, specifically: Swansea and Newport. A lower reliance on some of the faster growing sectors like professional services appear to be the reason why. As a result, these were the only two Welsh regions which saw a rise in the unemployment rate in the year to Q3 2014.

Barry Evans RBS Regional Director said:

“There’s definitely a more upbeat feel in the local economy. Our customers are demonstrating higher levels of confidence, they’re now more open and receptive to embracing the insights and solutions we discuss with them. A good example is agriculture which has the potential for income diversification. We’re finding the farming community is now far more receptive to new ideas on broadening income streams such as from green/ renewable energy, than they used to be.”

“Consumer demand continues to surprise us; as value for money and available spending power improves in the economy it has a positive knock-on effect for business. Our lending book in Wales and SW England grew significantly for the first time in a number of years in 2014, with healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture all actively investing. The looming General Election
has created some additional uncertainty around what this might mean for employers and entrepreneurs in terms of changes to regulation, tax and VAT etc. but overall businesses are optimistic about prospects in 2015 and beyond.”