FIRMS worried about selling overseas have been urged to regard the world as 'a land of opportunity' by a Bradford company boss and regional export ambassador.

Eric Hawthorn, founder and managing director of Shipley-based telecommunications technology business Radio Design, which over the last quarter sold more than 70 per cent of its output overseas, said a strong support network was available to local firms to help them open up international markets.

He was speaking following the publication of a new survey of nearly 5,000 companies by the British Chambers of Commerce showing that 90 per cent had ambitions to grow domestically but only 43 per cent had international plans. BCC has called for measures to take the "fear" out of exporting to help the UK fulfil its potential as a leading export nation.

The research showed that just over half of exporters said selling overseas had a positive impact on their bottom line within a year of expanding.

Europe and Asia were the most popular export regions for UK businesses, while countries including Japan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Hungary were seen as the biggest opportunities for growth.

John Longworth, BCC director general, said: "It's understandable that less than half of the businesses we surveyed have ambitions to grow internationally, but it proves that we need to do more as a nation to take the fear out of exporting.

"If we in Britain are serious about rebalancing our economy, we must invest even more in supporting and promoting international trade. The UK should be matching the level of resourcing dedicated to export support provided by our major international competitors."

Eric Hawthorn, who is the chief adviser on international trade to the Leeds city region Local Enterprise Partnership, said relying on the UK, which has only one per cent of the world's population, would limit firms' ability to grow.

He said: " Our own findings show that sentiments across the city region are similar to the BCC findings but there is now a much stronger network of support available to help firms develop export markers. I would urge them to get onto the LEP website and check out what ls available and attend one of the regional exporting events co-ordinated by Chamber international in Bradford.

" Firms need to be able to target the world's seven billion population who are the ultimate customers for goods and services. The UK is still a respected provider to world markets and there are good opportunities for businesses that take exporting seriously.

"At Radio Design we continue to expand internationally and in the last quarter exported around 70- per cent of our products- mainly to Europe which remains a key market. But there are other countries with stronger economic growth that should be targeted by exporters."

Radio Design has recently appointed a new sales manager to open up new markets in Africa and the MiddleEeast for mobile phone operators. Mr Hawthorn said the regions used the same frequencies as the UK.