Business News Round Up (03/11/2025)
More than a quarter of Scottish small businesses expect to shrink in next year
More than a quarter of Scottish small firms are expecting to shrink over the next 12 months, the Small Business Index has found. The survey, conducted by the Federation of Small Business (FSB), revealed that 29.1% of small businesses foresee contraction over the next 12 months, compared to a 6.4% which predict growth. 57% of small firms reported a decrease in profits during the most recent financial quarter. Revenue growth was reported by a net balance of minus 43.7%, marking the second-lowest quarterly revenue results in 15 years. Overall, confidence among small businesses in Scotland has plummeted to a net rating of minus 69.0, a significant decline from the previous quarter’s minus 35.7, according to the report. Scotland experienced one of the steepest drops in confidence across all UK regions, with only the East Midlands and West Midlands witnessing a greater fall in the third quarter.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/more-quarter-scottish-small-businesses-36156127
Year-on-year profit warnings fall at North West listed forms in Q3 – uncertainty weighing on consumer confidence
UK-listed companies in the North West issued six profit warnings during Q3 of 2025, down 45% compared to the 11 warnings issued in the same period of last year, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. Despite the year-on-year fall, the number of profit warnings issued by listed companies in the region doubled quarter-on-quarter, up from three during Q2 2025. Four of the warnings issued by North West companies in Q3 came from consumer-facing businesses, highlighting subdued consumer sentiment amid a challenging economic environment characterised by slow growth. This was also reflected in the national figures, with 19% of warnings citing weak consumer confidence. UK listed companies issued a total of 64 profit warnings in the third quarter, down from 84 during Q3 2024. The leading factor behind profit warnings across all listed UK companies during Q3 was policy change and geopolitical uncertainty, cited in 47% of warnings.
Office leasing activity in ‘Big Nine’ regional markets rose in Q3
Office leasing activity in the UK’s ‘Big Nine’ regional markets reached 1.7m sq ft in Q3 2025, exceeding the previous quarter’s performance, according to new data from Avison Young. Despite exceeding Q2 activity, take-up levels failed to reach the 10-year average for the second consecutive quarter. Liverpool’s Q3 office take-up rose 166% to 146,000 sq ft, marking the city’s strongest quarter since 2022 and 17% above the 10-year average. Leasing activity in Leeds rebounded in Q3, rising 67% to sit in line with the 10-year average, and in Birmingham take-up reached 207,000 sq ft in the quarter – up 37%. Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Leeds all reported rental growth in Q3, driven by developments with strong sustainability and wellbeing credentials. The prime average rent across the ‘Big Nine’ stood at £40.72/sq ft at the end of Q3, reflecting quarterly growth of 2.1% and annual growth of 5.5%.
Scotland leads UK regional investment outside of London
According to the analysis by Barclays Eagle Labs and Beauhurst the number of active UK companies has risen to 5.48 million – a 0.43%increase from the previous quarter. An estimated 1.05 million of these companies are operating within the key IS8 sectors, meaning almost a fifth (19.2%) of all UK corporations are aligned with this key long-term focus area for the government. The UK’s IS8 sectors – Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Creative Industries, Digital & Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, Professional & Business Services, and Defence – remain a priority to boost national growth, productivity and innovation. In Q3 2025, these sectors collectively attracted £3.90bn in equity Investment, led by Digital and Technology (£2.37bn), Professional and Business Services (£1.24bn), and Financial Services (£986m). Together, these sectors accounted for almost half (47.7%) of total UK equity investment activity this quarter.
https://www.digit.fyi/scotland-leads-uk-regional-investment-outside-of-london