Unlocking Northern corporates growth opportunities with HSBC UK

Northern corporate businesses are not just navigating uncertainty but thriving within it. Despite persistent economic headwinds, businesses across the North are showing remarkable resilience and the agility to seize strategic growth opportunities. Here, we share insights from our recent regional events, where we brought together mid-sized businesses from across the UK to discuss growth, resilience and the opportunities emerging in 2026.

Northern Corporates: Driving Specialised Growth and Resilience in the UK Economy

Finding opportunity in times of volatility

Investing in technology to unlock productivity

How we can help you unlock growth opportunities

Corporates are the UK’s unsung engine of growth – with an oversized impact on the UK economy. They are forecast to contribute £745 billion to the UK economy by 2028, accounting for 27% of UK gross value added (GVA) and creating an additional 1.9 million jobs.

As our recent Corporate Tracker highlights, most corporates are growing faster than the UK economy – and none more so than in the North. Between 2021 and 2024, the UK economy grew at a rate of 7.7% per year, based on gross value added. In the same period, the fastest growing sectors in the country’s three northern regions, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West, and the North East, all showed growth well above 10%. Our findings indicate that the region’s growth is predominantly influenced by sectoral composition and specialisation, rather than by its exposure to national growth trends.

As Doug Baikie, Managing Director, Head of Corporate Banking North, Scotland & Northern Ireland at HSBC UK, notes: “Northern businesses have shown a phenomenal track record of resilience and agility to navigate what's been a volatile last five or six years, continually evaluating their strategies to maintain momentum and protect their vision.

“There are much tighter ecosystems within this region. And that really supports the agility of those businesses around knowledge-sharing, with faster innovation cycles, which is critical for making strategic decisions and managing volatility.”

To help support growth across the region, HSBC recently hosted an event for 100 mid-sized businesses from across the Northern region to discuss how corporates can unlock opportunities in 2026.

Speakers included Sir Jeremy Hunt, MP and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, who shared his views on the macro environment and the challenges for corporates, drawing on his previous experience as Chancellor of the Exchequer and before that as a business founder.

“At a time of great uncertainty, there’s always a temptation to focus on the immediate crisis. It’s encouraging to see how many people recognise that it’s also a time of big opportunity. This is a time when smart operators should be investing, not cutting back.”

Sir Jeremy’s words are backed up by HSBC’s Global Investment Research, which spoke to 2,500 businesses and 500 institutional investors across 10 markets. The research suggests that global economic volatility has become the new normal. A structural characteristic of the operating environment that has meant UK businesses and institutional investors are no longer waiting for conditions to stabilise. Instead, they’re adapting their business strategies to take advantage.

A striking 94% of UK respondents agreed that significant opportunities for international growth exist despite this volatility, driving them to anticipate moderate to significant repositioning initiatives within the next three years.

This proactive stance marks a clear shift in perspective, with 79% of UK leaders perceiving the current environment as a distinct window of opportunity. They are actively seizing the moment to reassess where they operate, how they invest and how they manage risk.

“Everybody’s looking at opportunities to grow,” says Doug Baikie. “Whether it’s their product, but also about the markets they’re operating in, how they can be more productive – particularly through AI – and how and where they should be investing.”

It was no surprise that one of the key themes covered at the event was investing in AI to drive productivity gains and improve competitiveness. While some Northern mid-market corporates questioned how best to effectively harness AI, the technology stands out as a pivotal strategic investment for businesses across the region.

UK-wide research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) on behalf of HSBC UK, underlines the significant impact AI is having:

Recognising the importance of AI for growth-focused businesses, HSBC UK recently launched a £5 billion AI & Productivity Financing Initiative. The programme is designed to help UK businesses invest in the skills, systems and technology that can improve productivity and support long-term growth.

For businesses looking to invest and grow in 2026 – we can support you with the right financing solutions and support. "HSBC UK is here to help businesses in the Northern region," says Doug Baikie. We can support your domestic growth with our long-standing presence in the region and also facilitate international expansion, thanks to our extensive presence in over 50 markets.

Don’t just take our word for it. We were recently awarded best commercial bank and joint tied share leader by Greenwich, and we’re Euromoney’s corporate bank of the year.

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