Business News Round Up (27/04/2026)
More than 1.5m UK businesses carry overdue invoices as late payments increase
Late payment pressures intensified for UK businesses in the first quarter of 2026, with a growing number of companies carrying overdue invoices on their books, according to a new report from R3, the UK’s trade body for restructuring, turnaround and insolvency professionals. R3’s latest Quarterly Business Health report, based on data from Creditsafe, shows that the number of overdue invoices rose to 17.48 million, up three per cent on the same period last year, while 1.57 million UK businesses had overdue bills on their books. While insolvency‑related activity – including administration and voluntary and compulsory liquidations – fell by six per cent to 7,212 cases compared with the first quarter of 2025, they rose by nine per cent compared with the final quarter of 2025, highlighting that financial pressures on UK businesses are intensifying at a time of economic uncertainty and rising costs.
Call for growth to seize £17.5bn North Sea opportunity
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) has called for economic growth to become the top priority for both the UK and Scottish governments and urged ministers to seize the £17.5 billion North Sea investment opportunity currently on the table. The call comes as the chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), delivered in partnership with Gilson Gray LLP, shows North-east businesses under severe and sustained pressure, with weaker demand, weakening cash flow, reduced investment and subdued hiring intentions across the region. Analysis suggests much of the region’s underperformance reflects the ongoing contraction in oil and gas, with falling confidence and delayed investment hitting supply chains, jobs and spending power across the North-east. AGCC said the £17.5bn pipeline of potential North Sea investment demonstrates that growth can be unlocked quickly if the right policy choices are made, with major benefits for jobs, energy security, supply chains and public finances.
https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/call-for-growth-to-seize-ps175bn-north-sea-opportunity
Novuna: war, tariffs and tax fears push Scottish small business confidence to five-year low
The percentage of small businesses in Scotland predicting growth for the next three months (22%) has remained largely unchanged on last quarter (23%), according to Novuna Business Finance. Whilst historically, the spring months each year usually offer a seasonal boost to small business growth forecasts, in Scotland the like-for-like figures for April show that small business growth outlook is at its lowest level since the country went into the first Covid lockdown in 2020. The findings are from the Business Barometer study by Novuna Business Finance, which has tracked small business growth outlook every quarter since 2015. The new figures also highlight the challenging context in which many Scottish enterprises are currently operating, with 72% of small businesses fearing disruption to their enterprises that would result from current geo-political and economic uncertainty.
Scotland Women in Technology partners with The Data Lab
Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT), has announced that it will fund two new cohorts of The Data Lab’s Data and AI Leadership Programme in a bid to boost AI leadership skills among women working in the Scottish tech ecosystem. This is announced as part of a wider multi-year partnership between SWiT and The Data Lab to create opportunities for early to mid-career women in data and AI across Scotland. Over the next two years, SWiT will fund places for 40 women to participate in one of The Data Lab’s most successful development programmes. The course will be delivered through a blend of virtual and in-person sessions extending the reach of the programme and participants across the length and breadth of Scotland.
https://www.digit.fyi/scotland-women-in-technology-partners-with-the-data-lab