Accelerate Your Leeds-Based Business with a Fractional CFO

Overview of Leeds’ Economic Landscape in 2024

Our city has a diverse and robust economy and a supportive business environment, which makes it an attractive location for businesses to start, grow, and thrive. There are several key sectors which present opportunities for ambitious business leaders, including:

• Financial and professional services: Leeds is the UK’s second-largest financial centre outside London, generating a Gross Value Add (GVA) of £2 billion per year.
• Digital and Creative Industries: the city is becoming a hub for digital and creative businesses, with major players like Channel 4, Sky Digital, and Sky-bet establishing a presence.
• Manufacturing and engineering: Leeds remains a heartland for traditional engineering and is well-positioned for advanced manufacturing, generating over £7 billion annually.
• Health and life sciences: this is identified as a priority sector in the region’s Strategic Economic Plan.

Hub for Innovation and Research

Connected to the focus on health and life sciences, Leeds boasts the largest number of universities outside London, fostering strong links between higher education and business. This academic presence provides opportunities for research, development, and gives employers access to skilled graduates.

Affordable Business Premises

A great benefit for growing businesses is the wide range of affordable office spaces, co-working environments, and industrial units, catering to businesses of all sizes. The city centre and business parks like Thorpe Park provide high-quality office spaces with local amenities to support your team.

Unique challenges faced by businesses in Leeds

Although there are lots of reasons to be excited about doing business here, we recognise there are significant economic and infrastructure pressures that local businesses, particularly independents and SMEs, are facing:

• High street decline: the rise of online shopping has led to reduced foot traffic, with one in every five pounds now spent online.
• Unfair competition: online retailers can offer lower prices due to lower overheads, making it difficult for local businesses to compete.
• Business rates: brick-and-mortar shops in Leeds pay significantly higher business rates compared to online giants, creating an uneven playing field.
• Infrastructure and connectivity: the city is constrained by poor transport connectivity and Leeds still needs a comprehensive mass transit system to improve connectivity within the city and to the wider region.
• Workforce and skills: there’s a significant lack of managerial expertise, particularly outside the city centre. Additionally, local companies report challenges with implementing flexible working hours, work-from-home policies, and addressing discrimination.
• Social and economic disparities: like many cities in the North, Leeds faces challenges related to inequality and inclusive growth.
• Productivity and innovation: Leeds still faces challenges with productivity levels that are below the UK average. Additionally, while digital technologies are widely used in some areas, some areas, like human resource management and export compliance, still have relatively low adoption. This represents a great opportunity that a CFO can help your business tap into.

Find your business growth ally

The good news is that you are not facing these challenges alone. When you work with a fractional CFO who understands and addresses these challenges, your business can prepare for the inevitable bumps in the road that you’ll meet. Your CFO will bring deep expertise and real-world experience, as well as providing industry-specific insights.

As your business grows from £5 million to £50 million in turnover, financial leadership becomes crucial. A fractional CFO can provide you with a tailored strategic finance blueprint to help you reach your goals:

• Strategic financial planning: tailored strategies that consider local market conditions and growth opportunities in the local economic landscape and business environment.
• Cash flow management: optimising your finances to weather Yorkshire’s economic cycles
• Funding and investment: leveraging our network of local investors and understanding of regional funding options
• Business performance improvement: benchmarking against local competitors and industry standards.

Why Choose The CFO Centre?

• Cost-effective access to senior financial guidance
• Local expertise combined with national resources
• A local team with an understanding of Yorkshire’s business culture and values – and a passion for championing our special region.
• Flexible, part-time CFO solutions tailored to your needs.