In order to ride out this difficult period, local businesses must use good business practices, such as local sourcing of products and services, collaborative working and sharing contacts to ensure a stronger business proposition and maintain momentum in our city’s economy.

If 100 companies sourced one service from within their city for a year instead of from outside, it would keep £5 million in the local economy. Moreover, if 100 of the largest companies sourced all of their professional services from within their city for a year it would keep £15 million in the local economy.

These are figures that local businesses cannot ignore. This is why the Trade British initiative is set to be an extremely valuable tool for the future economic development of the city.

During these terribly difficult economic times, it is more important than ever to support our local economy and shop locally- The Federation has spent the past year campaigning for shoppers and small businesses alike to keep trade local, which means supporting the local shops and investing in their community. The figures show that up to 70 pence in a pound spent in a small business will go straight back into the local economy in which it works. With that kind of return in mind, this is an important time for everyone to support our local shops and make sure that we buy British.