Clive Owen LLP

Members of the Yorkshire Shadow MPC met to discuss their views on whether the Bank of England should raise interest rates again following last month’s biggest rise in 30 years.

The MPC is a partnership between Clive Owen LLP and the York Press, which considers the state of the region’s economy and gives experts from a variety of sectors the opportunity to argue their case for a shift, or hold, in the rate.

All attendees thought the Bank would raise interest rates and that this was the correct course, apart from one member who felt they should remain at 3%. The meeting took place before the latest inflation figures were announced on Wednesday 14/12.

Phillipa Symington, partner at Clive Owen LLP in York, said: “I don’t really want rates to go up but I think they will. We’ve got pressures in the economy and inflation continuing to rise.”

Graham Robb, senior partner at Recognition Pr said: “My thought is they shouldn’t rise by more than 0.5% and then the monetary medicine should be allowed time to work and let’s see what inflation does.

Gary Smith, chartered financial planner at Evelyn Partners said: “If labour market data comes out and is a positive the Bank of England may have to raise interest rates more than anticipated. I go for 0.5%. We know they’ve got to rise. We’re lagging behind the rest of the world with interest rate rises.”

Dave Broadbent, partner at Begbies Traynor said: “This will be my third recession I have worked through and this is probably the worst one. Personally I would hope it doesn’t increase at all. There’s enough pressures on Joe Public’s purse at the moment and I think putting an extra 0.5% - there’s a lot of people with interest only mortgages that I suspect are going to feel the pinch and 0.5% is a big jump”

Richard Peak managing director at Helmsley Group said: “We’re certainly seeing a demand from investors out there but it’s got to be for the right yield and investing in the right sort of properties. We think there will be some opportunities but you’ll have to tread carefully as it’s a very volatile market. My vote is for a quarter of a point rise”.

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF CLIVE OWEN LLP

CONTACT: Caroline Walker on 01325 363436

Notes to editors:

Clive Owen LLP are Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers.

The firm has 12 partners and 128 staff across four offices in Darlington, Middlesbrough, Durham and York.

It is an independent and commercially driven regional accountancy firm providing value added services to corporate, commercial, public sector and private clients.

Over the past thirty-nine years the firm has established itself as one of the largest and most trusted professional firms in the North East. This has been achieved by working closely with its clients to understand their needs and aspirations to ensure they achieve their financial goals.

Its services include:

Audit and Accountancy

Tax

Business Planning

Managed Services

Corporate Finance

Grants

It is a member of Kreston Global which is a worldwide network of independent accountancy and advisory firms.

Founded in 1971, Kreston offers reliable and convenient access to high-quality services through member firms located around the globe. Currently ranking as the 12th largest accounting association in the world, Kreston now covers 125 countries providing a resource of over 25,000 dedicated professionals.

This global network can be of huge value to our clients who can benefit from enhanced research coverage, local market knowledge, and cross-border professional expertise.