Business News Round Up (03/09/2021)
Food and drinks firms lose £2bn in export sales
Disruption caused by Brexit and the pandemic cost Britain’s food and drinks firms more than £2 billion in lost sales in the first half of the year. While exports to non-EU countries have rocketed by 13%, they have been unable to offset a 16% decline in sales to the EU, according to figures released by the Food and Drink Federation. Beef and cheese were the worst hit, with export sales down 37% and 34% respectively compared to the same six months in 2019, the last normal trading year. However, sales of salmon to the EU have risen by 13% compared to 2019 and by 27% compared to last year. Whisky is down 12% compared to two years ago but is up 20% on last year. Non-EU exports were driven by a return to growth in China, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and the Gulf region. It means non-EU exports are now almost back to pre-Covid levels. But the overall decline in exports reflected the dual impact of Covid and the red tape associated with Brexit, said the FDF.
UK economy lost more momentum in August, PMI survey shows
Britain’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic lost more momentum last month than originally estimated as staff shortages and supply chain issues weighed on companies in the country’s huge services sector, a survey showed on Friday. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 55.0 in August, revised lower from a preliminary “flash” reading of 55.5 and down sharply from 59.6 in July. Overall the survey added to signs that British economic growth has slowed somewhat in the last month or so. The PMI marked a fifth month above the 50 threshold for growth and a record share of services companies said they were hiring staff – but they also struggled against rising costs. A separate survey published earlier on Friday by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation also showed employers were still hunting for more staff than they were just before the pandemic, added to signs of a tight labour market after COVID-19 lockdowns and Brexit.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-economy-lost-more-momentum-august-pmi-survey-shows-2021-09-03/
Scottish footfall improves, but still a fifth down on pre-pandemic
Scottish retail footfall decreased by 21.2% in August – compared with the same month in pre-pandemic 2019 – although this was a 5.9% increase from July. The latest figures from Sensormatic IQ and the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) noted that this compares to the UK average decline of 18%. Shopping centre footfall declined by 29% in August in Scotland, up from a 31.7% fall in July. In August, footfall in Glasgow decreased by 20.3% compared to 2019 – although again, this was a 5.8% increase from July. SRC director David Lonsdale said: “Shopper footfall in Scotland continued to improve in a steady if unspectacular way in August, and for a second successive month – that said, footfall is still languishing a fifth down on pre-pandemic levels, with Scotland’s performance weaker than that of the UK as a whole. “The sustained weakness in shopper footfall is disconcerting as the hourglass counts down towards what is traditionally retail’s golden quarter prior to Christmas. This is when many retailers generate the revenues required to tide them through the leaner early months in the new year.”
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-footfall-improves-still-fifth-24892094
Base at Manchester Science Park celebrates topping out
Base at Manchester Science Park has now topped out, making it one of the first projects supported by the Government’s Getting Building Fund to reach the momentous milestone. Work on Manchester-based Bruntwood SciTech’s £21m, five-storey, 91,000 sq ft development started in December 2020, led by main contractor Caddick Construction, and is progressing at pace. The steel frame and precast floor slab structure are now complete and work on the external façade can be seen. Base has been specifically designed for companies working in high growth, frontier sectors of Industry 4.0, including low carbon, computer and energy technology, gaming, and animation. It will become a new specialist hub in the city, building on the region’s internationally recognised tech and manufacturing cluster. When complete in spring 2022, it will offer a mix of office space, the capability for labs and a dedicated makerspace workshop for the prototyping of new or modifying existing products. The building will also include a welcome lounge, break-out spaces, meeting rooms and event space, as well as an impressive roof terrace with expansive views across the city’s Oxford Road Corridor innovation district. Base will also be home to a new community innovation activities hub and vocational training centre committed to the rapid upskilling and retraining of young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The new hub will focus on the specialist technical skills associated with low carbon technologies and innovation and will aim to reach more than 5,000 local residents over the next five years and create in excess of 1,000 high value jobs in support of Manchester’s post-pandemic economic recovery.