Orkney businesses riding on the crest of a wave

Two recently released business reports suggest that business growth in Orkney remains strong.

Orkney Islands Council’s Business Gateway Service has just released the results of its latest business survey, which show that four out of five businesses in Orkney are optimistic or fairly optimistic about the future.

The survey was carried out earlier on this year to gauge views of the local business community on a range of issues and explore the levels of optimism in relation to the economic downturn.  The results will be used to identify the key issues and challenges faced by local businesses and new approaches to supporting them.

Nearly 400 local businesses took part in the survey and the results are available on the council website.

This comes on the back of another report which shows that company formation numbers in Orkney have seen a dramatic increase over the past few years — particularly in the renewables sector.

The Duport Business Confidence Report for Orkney shows that there were 17 companies formed in Orkney during the first half of 2009, but by the first half of 2012 this number had more than doubled to 40 — beating any other half year on record.

It also shows a significant rise in net company growth when comparing 2009 and 2012, suggesting that the past three years have seen Orkney’s economy grow and strengthen.

The report reinforces Orkney’s position as a leader in renewable energy with the data showing that “wind”, “power” and “renewables” all appeared amongst the top ten most popular words used in new company names between June 2011 and June 2012.