Ad Feature: Now is right time to invest in the future

Phil Meekin, head of marketing at Wilson Field.

Most of this is down to uncertainty – a curse which always makes people jittery, hits confidence and suppresses investment.

The biggest issue recently has perhaps been the whole issue of Brexit.

Politicians on both sides of the argument have made ludicrous claims which they could not substantiate.

It is very difficult to compare what we have now with something we have not experienced before and the implications are potentially far reaching.

Debates have become mud-slinging matches and former political allies have been locked in conflict with many previously well-thought-of individuals losing credibility.

Leading industrialists, business owners, foreign politicians as well as institutions such as the IMF, have expressed views but these are rarely impartial and reflect how they perceive the outcome will impact on their own interests.

Then of course there is the US presidential election campaign.

We are now down to Donald Trump v Hilary Clinton in the race to see who will succeed Back Obama in the White House come November.

According to the American media neither is hugely popular and many seem to think that ultimately it will be a choice of the lesser of two evils rather than the most popular who will become president.

Nearer to home we have the issue of the Northern Powerhouse – a great idea to focus northern towns and cities into one focused unit able to compete more effectively in the global market.

It is a concept to reduce the inequality between the north and south.

But despite conferences and rhetoric, it is slow getting off the ground.

Arguments about the routes of HS2 and HS3 have still to be resolved and that is only scratching the surface of the Northern Powerhouse.

So with all this doom and gloom in the media where will we be in 12 months? For hundreds of years Britain has had a strong trading reputation in which our region has played a significant role.

Neither the result of the Brexit referendum nor the outcome of the US presidential election will change that.

There may be short-term glitches caused by the outcome of these events but in the medium to long term there is no reason why we should not bounce back whatever the results.

Many business owners who follow their long-term gut instincts and continue to invest in their businesses will gain the edge over their more reticent competitors.