survey of britain's captains of industry 2013
DESCRIPTION
Ipsos MORI’s Captains of Industry report finds 20 year high in optimism for economy from the men and women running Britain’s largest companies. Justin King of Sainsbury’s named Britain’s most impressive businessman.TRANSCRIPT
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Version 1 | Internal Use Only Survey of Britain’s
Captains of Industry 2013
December 2013
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Economy and Politics
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93%
7%
Improve Stay the same Get worse
C1. Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the
same or get worse over the next 12 months?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Year
Improve 93%
Get worse
0%
General election
General election
General election
A majority of Captains (93%) think the economic condition will
improve over the next 12 months
General election
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
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C1. Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the
same or get worse over the next 12 months?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Year
Improve 93%
Get worse
0%
General election
General election
General election
Economic optimism since 1987
General election
Base: British Captains of Industry
General election
General election
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C4. What do you see as the most important issues facing Britain today?
Just over a quarter of Captains see restoring growth in the
economy as the most important issue facing Britain
10%
10%
11%
16%
20%
23%
27%
International competitivness
The Eurozone
Inadequate education system/more investment ineducation
Unemployment
Investment in infrastructure
Government/deficit/debt
Rebalancing/ stimulating / restoring growth in the economy
Top mentions
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
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84%
14% 2%
Improve Stay the same Get worse
C2. Do you think that business for your own company will improve, stay the same or get
worse over the next 12 months?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Year
Improve 84%
Get worse
2%
General election
General election
General election
Only 2% of Captains think that business for their own company
will get worse; the majority (84%) expect improvement
General election
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
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C2. Do you think that business for your own company will improve, stay the same or get
worse over the next 12 months?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Year
Improve 84%
Get worse
2%
General election
General election
General election
Company optimism since 1987
General election
Base: British Captains of Industry
General election
General election
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C5. And, what are the most important problems facing your company today?
The most important problems that Captains face are difficulty
meeting labour demands and government legislation/regulation
12%
13%
17%
18%
Internatinal competition/new competitors/ maintainingcompetitive position
General economic climate
Government legislation/ regulation
Difficulty meeting labour demands/ recruitment needs/attracting and keeping staff
Top mentions
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
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C3. To what extent do you agree with the following statement? In the long term, this government's
policies will improve the state of the British economy
Captains continue to agree that in the long term the government’s
policies will improve the state of the British economy
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Agree 83%
Disagree 9%
General election
General election
Year
General election
General election
21%
62%
9%
8% 1%
Strongly agree Tend to agree
Neither agree nor disagree Tend to disagree
Strongly disagree
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C104. What steps, if any, would you like to see the Government taking to help restore
growth in the UK economy?
Captains would like the government to invest in the
infrastructure and reduce taxation
7%
8%
9%
10%
14%
18%
23%
Coherent/consistent energy policy/deal with energy issues
Encourage longer term planning/strategy/stability/consistency
Reduce public services spending/debt
Investment in education/skills/ training
Reduce / simplify regulation/bureaucracy
Reduce taxation
Investment in infrastructure
Top mentions
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
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C3. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
Most Captains (82%) believe the UK is currently an attractive place
to invest
19% 63% 12% 5% 1% The UK is currently an attractive place to
invest
Strongly agree Tend to agree Neither agree nor disagree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sep-Dec 2013
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C42. In the current climate, which of the following countries do you believe offers the best environment
for business?
C43. Which of the following countries do you believe are the most attractive for investment?
The USA remains the best environment for business with China
perceived as the most attractive for investment
52%
25%
1%
3%
4%
1%
1%
0%
7%
4%
1%
34%
9%
7%
4%
1%
6%
1%
4%
4%
23%
5%
USA
UK
Brazil
Australia
Canada
India
Middle East
Mexico
Germany
China
Africa
Best environment
Most attractive
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
Top mentions 2013
45%
14%
7%
6%
4%
4%
3%
2%
2%
2%
1%
17%
8%
17%
2%
2%
10%
2%
3%
3%
23%
3%
USA
UK
Brazil
Australia
Canada
India
Middle East (net)
Mexico
Germany
China
Africa (net)
Best environment
Most attractive
2012
Base: British Captains of Industry (103) interviewed Sep-Dec 2012
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C44a In which one or two of the following sectors do you see the greatest potential for growth in the
UK over the next 12 months?
C44b In which one or two of the following sectors do you see the least potential for growth in the UK
over the next 12 months?
The construction sector is seen as having the greatest potential for
growth with the mining/minerals and natural resources sector having the
least
57%
40%
37%
31%
16%
4%
3%
2%
2%
11%
19%
2%
21%
11%
61%
47%
Construction
Services/retailing
Financial/banking/insurance
Technology/media/telecoms
Manufacturing
Transport/distribution
Mining/minerals/naturalresources
Utilities
Greatest
Least
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013 Base: British Captains of Industry (103) interviewed Sep-Dec 2012
2013
64%
36%
26%
19%
18%
9%
7%
6%
1%
1%
14%
32%
16%
41%
23%
28%
21%
1%
Technology/media/telecoms
Construction
Services/retailing
Manufacturing
Financial/banking/insurance
Utilities
Mining/minerals/naturalresources
Transport/distribution
Other
Greatest
Least
2012
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C78. Using a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 means it is not at all important and 5 means it is
extremely important, please say how important each of the following factors are when
you judge a company or organisation?
90% say acting with honesty and integrity is extremely important
when judging a company or organisation
90%
54%
54%
45%
20%
18%
12%
8%
43%
38%
44%
43%
50%
38%
2%
2%
6%
10%
36%
28%
43%
3%
6%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
Acts with honesty and integrity
Quality of products or services
Quality of management
Quality of employees
Financial performance
Innovative and forward thinking
Communications with people like you
5 extremely important 4 3 2 1 not at all important No opinionBase: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013
1%
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C8. What is your best estimate of when the UK economy will begin to grow in a significant
way again?
A quarter say the UK is currently growing but just over half estimate it
will be a year or more before the UK economy grows significantly
24%
1%
10%
30%
14%
9%
9%
4%
It's growing
Up to 6 months
7 months up to 12 months
More than 1 year up to 2 years
More than 2 years up to 4 years
More than 4 years
Not stated
Don’t know
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013.
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Captains and Regulation
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C90. Do you feel that the level of regulation affecting business in the UK overall has been
increasing or decreasing over the last 12 months or has there been no change?
Almost two-thirds think that the level of regulation has been
increasing
64%
5%
31%
Increase Decrease No change
57% (2012)
4% (2012)
39% (2012)
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sep-Dec 2013, (103) interviewed Sept-Dec 2012
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C3. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
A majority of Captains agree that the level of regulation on UK
business is harming the UK economy
35%
35%
48%
46%
7%
15%
10%
2%
1%
2%
1
2
Strongly agree Tend to agreeNeither agree nor disagree Tend to disagreeStrongly disagree
2013
2012
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sep-Dec 2013, (103) interviewed Sept – Dec 2012
2013 +77pp
The level of
regulation on UK
businesses is
harming the UK
economy
2012 +72pp
Net percentage points (Net = % Agree - % Disagree):
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C6A1. How, specifically, would you like to see the level of regulation on UK businesses
reduced in the UK?
Simplifying employment legislation is the most frequently mentioned
area where Captains would like to see a reduction in regulation
8%
8%
9%
9%
11%
13%
13%
22%
Stability/consistency in the regulatory environment
Reduce bureaurcracy/red tape
Simplify the planning process/ planning regulation
Less prescriptive approach to regulation/ moreprinciples based
Better/ less onerous corporate governanceregulation
Simplify/reduce financial sector regulation
Better implementation/ more coordinatedimplementation
Simplify/flexibility in employment legislation
Base: British Captains of Industry, interviewed Sep-Dec 2013, All who agreed that regulation on UK businesses is harming the economy (85)
Top Mentions
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Captains and business
culture
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C3. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
Majority of Captains agree that politicians have a poor
understanding of business
44%
51%
21%
22%
48%
36%
49%
49%
3%
7%
10%
9%
3%
6%
16%
20%
2%
1%
3%
3%
2012
2013
2012
2013
Strongly agree Tend to agree Neither agree nor disagree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree No opinion
Base: British Captains of Industry (105) interviewed Sept-Dec 2013, (103) interviewed Sept – Dec 2012
Public culture in Britain is
biased against Britain
In general, politicians in this
country have a poor
understanding of business
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Most impressive Business
Person
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Sir Terry Leahy
C26. Who do you think is the most impressive business person in Britain at the moment?
Who else? (*asked as industrialist up to 1999, as business leader in 2000)
Justin King tops the list as the most impressive business person
for the first time
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
'81 '83 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 2000 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 10 11 12 13
Sir Richard
Branson
Base: British Captains of Industry, 1981-2013
Lord Weinstock
Sir John Harvey-Jones
Lord Weinstock
Lord Hanson
Lord Hanson
Sir David Simon
Richard Branson
Sir Colin Marshall
Sir Richard Sykes
Lord Browne
Lord Browne
Sir Terry Leahy
Sir John Rose
Justin King
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Methodology and Sample
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Methodology
• This report presents findings of the 2013 study of Captains of Industry, widely
acknowledged as the authoritative source of opinion on Britain's business elite
• Respondents are executive board-level directors and chairmen
• Companies are from:
• top 500 industrials by turnover; and
• top 100 financial companies by capital employed
• A total of 105 respondents took part, details of which are provided below
• Fieldwork: September – December 2013
• 102 interviews were conducted face-to-face and 3 by telephone
• Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding,
multiple responses or the exclusion of don't know categories
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Composition of the sample
Base: British Captains of Industry 2013 (105), interviewed Sep-Dec 2013
Industry Sector 2013
Services/ Retailing 23%
Financial/ Banking 24%
Technology/ Media/ Telecoms 15%
Manufacturing 11%
Transport/ Distribution 2%
Construction 10%
Utilities 7%
Mining/ Minerals/ Natural Resources 2%
Other 6%
Employees 2013
Below 500 12%
500-4,999 50%
5000-24,999 29%
25,000 + 9%
Job Title 2013
Chairman 32%
Chief Executive 35%
Finance Director/ CFO 17%
Managing Director 4%
Other 14%
FTSE Index 2013
FTSE 100 19%
FTSE 250 41%
Other listed and Private 40%
Head Office Location 2013
London 43%
Outside London 57%