Motoring towards economic recovery in the north east?

Mick Dawson set up his motorbike accessories business 10 years ago, after finding out about EBay and deciding it could be a good part-time money-spinner. It was also a chance to do more with his life-long hobby, motorbikes.

“There were three of us, and we were all going to put £100 in each,” he told Channel 4 News. “But the other two fell by the wayside so it became £300 from me.”

A decade on, he has 2,000 motorbike helmets in stock, each retailing at around £200-300, and around 500 jackets. He sells to customers around the world, including in Brazil and Russia.

But it hasn’t been easy. With his wife, Joyce, and six staff, he operates out of his mother’s farm and the outbuildings and describes the banks as “not wanting to know” about loan requests for small businesses.

“It’s all right saying it’s the banks’ fault, but is it the government’s fault? Shouldn’t they help businesses?” he said.

He still works as a police officer as well as running the company, MSG Bike Gear, but next year he hopes the business will be able to fully sustain him and his family.

Leaving home

However, he remains concerned – particularly in these treacherous economic times – that he cannot pay his staff enough to afford to buy houses, and thinks it is one of the many reasons young people are leaving the north east.

For these reasons, he doesn’t see a full-blown recovery – although despite poor weather earlier in 2013, which impacted on business, he has had a good year of sales.

“If David Cameron came around the corner right now, I would ask him, ‘Can you do more to help small businesses?’

“Because my fear is particularly in this area, the north east, people are leaving,” he said.