Yorkshire businesses will be focusing on investing in staff training in 2026 (44%), according to new research from Lloyds’ Business Barometer. This compares to the 36% who said they’d be investing in training last year.

Another third (34%) of Yorkshire firms plan to invest in increasing wages for employees, while 32% will invest in expanding into new UK markets.

In the year ahead, Yorkshire firms will be focused on boosting their productivity (48%), upskilling their staff (41%) and improving their environmental sustainability (37%).

Enhancing technology, such as automation or AI (39%), is the area where the most Yorkshire businesses say they need extra support to achieve their 2026 goals.

The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly and which has been running since 2002, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.

Martyn Kendrick

Yorkshire’s businesses are creating plans that won’t just help them capitalise on new opportunities in 2026, they’ll also provide a good platform for long-term growth.

We’ll continue to deliver our support to help them achieve their goals over the year ahead, and beyond.