A NEW report into the local economy points out that businesses face a challenging few months - but there is good news for Bradford.

The latest evaluation of the Leeds City Region economy raises concerns of a global recession, and questions how ready businesses will be ready for a No Deal Brexit in October.

But the report also reveals that Bradford saw a higher rate of new businesses opening than it’s neighbours.

So far this year for every 1,000 existing business bank accounts registered in Bradford, 84 have been for new businesses.

This compares to the “Leeds City Region” figure of 65, and the national figure of 67.

Bradford is by far the best performer in the West Yorkshire Area when it comes to numbers of new businesses. Selby, York and Harrogate have all seen the numbers of new businesses registered falling.

However elsewhere the report points to uncertainty over Brexit and global issues such as the trade war between the US and China as impacting business growth.

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The report will go before West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Business Innovation and Growth Panel on Tuesday. It says: “Global growth has been subdued in recent months as a range of geopolitical tensions show signs of taking effect on investment, trade and demand, increasing fears of recession. The global economy appears to be slowing and the risk of recession rising for major economies, and markets appear to be increasingly expectant of a downturn. The added challenges of Brexit are also contributing to the slowdown in the UK.

“This slowdown is an added layer of uncertainty for those businesses who have forward provisioned for the initial Brexit deadline and who may face cash flow challenges, particularly when faced with a similar set of circumstances ahead of the UK’s prospective departure date in October. Implementing similar plans for a second time may pose practical and financial challenges for many businesses.

“The devaluation of sterling coupled with businesses reporting increased demand for and cost of warehousing space, would suggest that the cash flow challenges posed by a second round of no deal planning could potentially prove more complex than the last.

“Anecdotal evidence from businesses in Leeds City Region confirms these challenges, particularly when aligned with a further devaluing of sterling which is feeding through into higher import prices.”