Over 40 Hampshire business representatives got an inside look into the UK's economic outlook in a seminar lead by renowned economist, Janet Mui.

The event, hosted by local firm HWB Chartered Accountants, took place on the University of Southampton Science Park.

Attendees included representatives from construction, recruitment, property design, and several other industries.

Mui, who helms the Market Analysis department at wealth manager RBC Brewin Dolphin, shared her expert take on the financial landscape both locally and globally.

An interactive polling platform saw participants share their views on perceived factors that could potentially threaten the UK economy.

The results comprised concerns about skills gaps, high debt levels, slack productivity, labour market pressures and the knock-on effects of significant global events. 

Outlining her message to businesses, she told the attendees: “From what I see in the financial markets there are reasons to be optimistic. The fact that inflation appears to have peaked removes huge uncertainty. It has been coming down in tandem in the US, UK and Eurozone.

“The question is whether or not this will be a sustainable trend in the UK, which has seen the highest inflation rate of all advanced western countries. Inflation is the main issue that suppresses growth.   

“It is now expected to get closer to the Bank of England target of two per cent, even though the journey could be bumpy.

“In turn, financial markets expect two or three interest rate cuts in the UK in the second half of this year.

“Taking all factors into consideration, I strongly advise anyone in a business to keep a close eye on what’s happening with inflation and interest rates and take advice ahead of investment decisions.”

Michaela Johns, HWB Director, said: “Janet gave us some fascinating insight into the key macro-economic trends and prospects we can expect for the rest of 2024 and how that may impact the activities of businesses across the country including those firms within our client base.

“It’s going to be a pivotal few months as people look to understand the latest inflationary trends and interest rate movements and how they affect consumer spending, wage growth, property prices, mortgage rates and approvals, productivity and investment.”