Chamber grows revenue amid challenging economic conditions

The meeting, attended by members in Newcastle Cathedral, also saw the election of Natasha McDonough, founder and managing director of MMC Research as president, succeeding Deborah Walton of Palintest who came to the end of her two-year term in office. Northumbrian Water’s Louise Hunter was appointed Chamber vice president.

The Chamber’s latest annual results showed that revenue increased 4% to £3.1 million in the year to 31 December 2025, with every revenue-generating department of the Chamber seeing year-on-year growth.  

However, rising costs, including the increase to Employer’s National Insurance Contributions, saw the Chamber record an overall net operating loss of £315,000. This deficit was within the expectations of the Chamber’s board and was covered by the organisation’s cash reserves.

In his speech to the AGM, our chief executive John McCabe said:

“The impressive increases we were seeing in our income streams were simply being outpaced by rising costs.

“By the midway point in the year, we took the decision to enter a consultation with staff which saw four senior management roles being made redundant.

“Redundancy packages added to the costs incurred in 2025 but this decision to reduce our headcount in a limited way has contributed significantly to a much-improved cost base in 2026.

“Having taken this step and despite the economic headwinds, the fundamentals of the Chamber’s business model remained strong and have continued to improve in 2026.”

The accounts also showed that the company had net assets of £4.25 million, bolstered by significant investment in its Newcastle and Durham offices. The refurbishment of the Newcastle office now sees this space full of tenants and licence holders, generating more than £400,000 in revenue last year, and refurbishment of the Durham office is almost complete.

Despite the strong economic headwinds, the Chamber continues to invest in its 60-strong team, achieving Living Wage accreditation at the end of 2025 and maintaining its commitment to paying employees a fair and decent wage. The company has also taken positive steps to secure its long-term health by placing £1 million into long-term investment funds – a move which has already delivered a significant return on investment.

Last year saw us record a raft of notable achievements, including the delivery of phase two of a Local Skills Improvement Plan in partnership with the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The Chamber has been working with more than 3,500 businesses in North of Tyne and Tees Valley to place employers at the heart of the skills system to take the region’s economy forward and boost opportunities for future generations.

2025 also saw us appointed by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority to deliver the joint employer pilot as part of the ‘Get Britain Working Trailblazer’, looking at the pathways to work for those currently economically inactive due to ill health.

Two essential components of the Chamber's offer are our events programme and international trade services. In 2025, more than 8,000 people attended at least one of 250 events held throughout the year and we supported more than 600 North East businesses to import or export products or services, processing more than 10,000 international trade documents.

John McCabe said the results represented a positive growth story as the Chamber continues to deliver value for its 1,800-strong membership, which represents more than a third of the region’s workforce.

He said: “Last year we took difficult decisions to control our costs but remained focused on the delivery of our long-term objectives of membership growth and diversified income. I’m delighted to report that on the evidence of 2026 so far, the strategy is working and growth is returning to the Chamber.

“We are continuing to build strong foundations of a successful business; an ambitious, modern Chamber of Commerce that remains in the service of its members and region. We’re widely seen as an anchor institution at the heart of the North East, championing our region at the highest levels of power, promoting our shared potential on the international stage and standing shoulder to shoulder with our members at every stage on their growth journey.”

Closing his AGM remarks, John McCabe said the Chamber is on course to end 2026 £22,000 ahead of budget, £250,000 ahead of 2025 having delivered a £160,000 revenue improvement on the previous year.