Businesses are starting to enjoy a recovery in markets at home and overseas as the economy slowly emerges from recession, according to delegates at the Coface – UK & Ireland Country Risk Conference.

Almost 70 per cent of delegates polled at the Conference said their businesses were witnessing a recovery in trade compared with just 13 per cent that had seen no sign of an upturn.

The delegates painted a picture of the domestic and global economy being at a crossroads on the road to recovery.

While in excess of 24 per cent said demand in export markets had not reduced over the past 12 months, more than 23 per cent said it had – depending on which economic and geographic regions they were trading with.

In terms of the domestic economy, more than 46 per cent said demand for their products and services had not dropped over the year but 39 per cent said they had endured a fall in demand.

Delegates remained unsure about the Lib-Con coalition Government ahead of tax rises and public sector spending cuts in the emergency Budget on 22nd June. Almost 42 per cent thought the new administration would be positive for the UK business climate but almost 40 per cent remained undecided.

The poll produced evidence of businesses undertaking a cautionary stance to protect themselves against potentially damaging effects of the downturn – more than 58 per cent have strengthened their credit management in the past 12 months.

The conference at the Palace Hotel in Manchester was addressed by Dr Mohamed Djeddour, Head of International Business Programmes at Manchester Business School, who spoke on The UK Economy – exhaustion of the old model and prospects for a new growth path.

Other economists to speak were Juan Gomez, Head of Economic Strategy at Manchester’s Commission for the New Economy and Christine Altuzarra, an analyst in the Economic Studies and Country Risk Department of Coface in Paris, where she is primarily in charge of industrialised countries and sectors.

Christine Altuzarra said the worldwide economic crisis had been the worst and deepest since the first oil crisis of the mid-1970s and that cycle durations tend to be narrower and narrower.

She said growth had returned globally in 2010 with emerging economies outstripping that of industrialised nations and that nations in the eurozone are likely to endure a more painful and slower recovery than others outside the zone – highlighted by the crisis gripping Greece and concerns about the economies of Spain and Portugal.

Ms Altuzarra believes the UK will see growth of 1.3 per cent in 2010 -  as France – compared to her forecasts of 1.5 per cent for Germany and nearly 3 per cent for the United States.

Mr Gomez, whose speech was entitled ‘The North West Economy: Growth with Confidence?’ said the worst effects of the recession had passed and that the North West was set for a modest rate of growth.

Philip King, chief executive of the Institute of Credit Management (ICM), delivered a speech on ‘Out of Recession: Risk & Response’.

His speech supported the findings of the poll by showing how companies were beginning to benefit from an improvement in business as the nation emerged from recession.

It was the first time that Coface, a leading provider of country, sector and business climate ratings and a world leader in credit management services, had staged the conference outside of London.

Xavier Denecker, the managing director of Coface – UK & Ireland, acted as conference moderator and told delegates that Coface selected Manchester because it was home to the industrial revolution and had transformed itself into “one of the most important cities in the UK and has been able to reinvent itself into a dynamic metropolis, with an extensive presence from the service, finance and media sectors.”

The conference was attended by over 200 finance directors and credit management professionals, their advisers and those with an interest in country risk.

Contributed by Coface