Business News Round Up (04/09/2023)
Scotland businesses face uphill battle to decarbonise real estate portfolio in drive for low carbon economy
Investment in the sustainability of Scotland’s real estate stock needs to significantly ramp up as focus turns to a low carbon economy, according to new research from property services firm JLL. The Envision Sustainability report, which sets out a plan for a low carbon real estate market for the UK, shows that just 27% of Edinburgh’s EPC certifications lodged for its office market achieved the highest A and B standards, with Glasgow slightly higher at 30% The equivalent figure for Edinburgh’s housing stock was just 16%, while only 13% of residential developments in Glasgow are EPC A. Other sectors across the industry fared similarly. For general industrial space, EPC A and B certifications is at 27% in Edinburgh and just 10% for Glasgow. Scotland also performed poorly in the retail sector, with 7% of buildings achieving EPC A in Glasgow and 9% in Edinburgh. The research shows the challenges the industry faces to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions -with more stringent regulatory framework being investigated for both Scottish domestic and non-domestic property. JLL’s analysis of EPC data across the UK illustrates the shortfall between awareness and action, with more than two-thirds of EPCs registered in the last year not meeting proposed future standards.
North West’s PE activity cools in first half
UK transactions involving mid-market private equity investors in the North West of England cooled in the first half of 2023 amid market volatility and tough trading conditions, new analysis from KPMG UK has revealed. The firm’s latest Mid-Market Private Equity study, which tracks deal flow and sentiment, shows that 32 deals worth £3.6bn were completed in the North West in H1 2023, reflecting a drop in volume of more than 21 per cent, but also an uptick in total value by 80 per cent, when compared to the same period in 2022. In terms of the proportion of deals completed in the region, the North West accounted for more than 9.8 per cent of all deals taking place in H1 2023, a slight reduction from 11 per cent in H1 2022. The picture also remained largely unchanged elsewhere in the country, with almost half of all mid-market deals (47.4 per cent) completed in the London region. On a national level, the report revealed that 327 deals worth £32bn were completed in H1 2023, a reduction in volume of 12 per cent when compared with the same period in 2022. For the overall private equity market, however, more clouds appeared on the horizon as 689 deals worth £70bn were completed in the first half of the year, compared to 909 deals completed in H1 2022.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/regions-pe-activity-cools-in-first-half
Scottish retail footfall outperforms rest of UK
Scottish retail footfall increased by 0.4% in August year-on-year, 5.5 percentage points worse than July. This was better than the UK average decrease of 1.6%, according to the latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) figures. Shopping centre footfall also increased, by 3.1% in August year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points worse than July. In August, footfall in Edinburgh increased by 5.7%, while Glasgow decreased by 3.2%. SRC director David Lonsdale commented: “Scottish footfall to retail destinations grew for the second successive month in August, albeit there was a marked deceleration in the growth rate. Scotland outperformed the UK average and was one of only three out of 13 parts of the UK to witness any improvement at all last month. That said, Scottish footfall is still an eighth down on pre-Covid levels. “ Lonsdale added: “The challenges for shops and our retail destinations aren’t all in the rear-view mirror. Hybrid working remains prevalent in some sectors and means a chunk of office workers are no longer travelling into city centres as frequently.”
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-retail-footfall-outperforms-rest-30832129
North West planning authorities urged to bid for funding to ease backlogs
A call has been made by real estate services firm, Savills, for North West local planning authorities to take advantage of government funding to tackle skills gaps and backlogs. The Planning Skills Delivery Fund (PSDF), which is part of the Government’s Capacity and Capability Programme, is providing £24m over two years to local authorities to help with the implementation of the proposed reforms in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. In the first year of the fund, which provides an opportunity for local planning authorities to apply for funding up to £100,000, proposals are being invited to address either backlog funding or skills funding, or both. The deadline for applications is September 11, 2023, via an online form. The backlog funding element is only available to local planning authorities (LPAs) which are decision makers on planning applications, while the skills funding is available for all local authorities involved in plan making and decision making to apply for, which includes upper tier authorities such as county councils. Only applicable in England, applications will be considered against an evidence of need, outputs and outcomes of the proposal, costs and value for money, and deliverability.