Bank of England chief visits Herefordshire firm, S&A Produce (From Hereford Times)

Bank of England chief visits Herefordshire firm, S&A Produce

8:00am Friday 5th March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

A MEMBER of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee paid a visit to S&A Produce last week as part of a tour of Herefordshire businesses.

Each month members of the committee visit different areas of the country to get a first hand impression of local economies.

Dr Andrew Sentance took a tour round S&A’s Brierley site to find out about its operations and contribution to the local economy. He was accompanied by Stuart Kelly, the bank’s deputy agent for the West Midlands.

Trevor Gregory, financial director at S&A Produce, said: “The company is one of Herefordshire’s largest employers, employing around 80 full-time staff and contributing many millions of pounds into the local economy each year.

“We appreciated the opportunity to share some of our recent successes, and we very much hope he will come back to see us again in the future,” said Mr Gregory.

Mr Sentance said business conditions have stabilised after a severe recession and signs of recovery are emerging.

“I have been impressed by the resilience of businesses in this area in the face of a major economic downturn, but the recovery is still fragile and there remains a lot of uncertainty about economic prospects,” said Dr Sentance.

“However, business confidence has improved greatly over the last year and I am hopeful that this improvement will continue as the current signs of recovery become more firmly established."