Businesses Show Strong Growth Ambition Despite Financial Pressures – ENI Enterprise Barometer 2025

The latest findings from the 2025 Northern Ireland Enterprise Barometer reveal a resilient but uneven picture for businesses across the North & Northwest region (includes Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council), with strong growth ambition tempered by weaker financial resilience and ongoing skills challenges. 

Now in its seventh year, the Enterprise Barometer provides one of the most comprehensive insights into the performance of small businesses, micro-enterprises and the self-employed. Drawing on direct engagement between Local Enterprise Agencies and the businesses they support, the findings offer a highly accurate reflection of trading conditions, and the support needs of firms at a local level. 

Growth ambitions remain strong in the North and Northwest 

Businesses across the North & Northwest region are demonstrating clear ambition for growth. 

The Barometer shows that 43% of businesses report current growth levels in line with the Northern Ireland average, while expectations for the year ahead are slightly more optimistic than elsewhere (59% compared to 56% NI average).  

Encouragingly, 81% of businesses in the region have plans for growth over the next 12 months, above the Northern Ireland average of 76%, highlighting a strong appetite to expand despite ongoing economic pressures.  

Financial position more fragile despite manageable debt 

However, this ambition is set against a more fragile financial backdrop. While levels of business debt are broadly in line with the NI average (56% vs 57%), and debt is considered highly manageable for most (92% manageable or very manageable), cashflow pressures are more evident.  

Only 7% of businesses report strong cashflow, significantly below the NI average of 12%, while 29% report weak cashflow, higher than the regional benchmark.  

This indicates that although debt itself is not a major concern, day-to-day liquidity remains a key issue for many firms. 

Cost pressures persist across the region 

Like other parts of Northern Ireland, cost pressures continue to weigh heavily with overall levels in line with the wider NI average. Rising input costs, energy prices and operational expenses remain consistent challenges, reinforcing the need for targeted financial and advisory support to help businesses maintain stability while pursuing growth. 

Skills challenges remain a barrier to growth 

Labour market pressures and skills gaps continue to affect the region, though in a more moderate way compared to other areas. 

The proportion of businesses reporting hard-to-fill vacancies (15%) is below the NI average of 18%, suggesting slightly less immediate recruitment pressure.  

However, difficulty in finding the right skills remains marginally higher than average (55% vs 54%), indicating that while vacancies may be fewer, accessing appropriately skilled staff continues to constrain growth.  

In addition, willingness to take on apprenticeships is slightly below average (43% vs 44%), while awareness of available skills development support is lower (54% vs 58%), highlighting an opportunity to better connect businesses with existing support programmes.  

Productivity and performance show mixed picture 

Productivity performance in the North and North West is slightly above the NI average, with 50% of firms rating their productivity positively compared to 47% across Northern Ireland.  

However, wider performance indicators point to a mixed picture, with 14% of businesses at risk or facing difficulty - higher than the NI average of 10%.  

This reinforces the Barometer’s overall theme of uneven growth, where strong ambition exists alongside underlying financial and operational pressures. 

A call for targeted, localised support 

Overall, the North and North West region demonstrates strong entrepreneurial ambition and a clear desire for growth. However, the data highlights the need for targeted interventions, particularly to strengthen cashflow resilience, improve access to skills, and raise awareness of support mechanisms. 

With the right collaboration and locally delivered support, the region is well positioned to translate this ambition into sustainable economic growth, benefiting businesses, communities and the wider Northern Ireland economy. 

The role of Local Enterprise Agencies 

What makes the Enterprise Barometer particularly valuable is the direct engagement of Local Enterprise Agencies with their tenant base and the wider business community. This close connection ensures that the data reflects real, on-the-ground experiences and emerging challenges faced by businesses. 

The findings underline the importance of collaboration between government, policymakers and delivery partners with Local Enterprise Agencies - the network best placed to provide agile, tailored support that meets the evolving needs of businesses across Northern Ireland. 

Download the full report 

To explore the full findings from the 2025 Northern Ireland Enterprise Barometer, including detailed insights across all regions, visit https://enterpriseni.com/the-voice-of-business/ni-enterprise-barometer-2025/