Business News Round Up (05/01/2023)
Scottish commercial property market continues upward trend in 2022
Annual investment volumes in Scottish commercial property continued their upward trajectory in 2022, despite macro-economic challenges, according to new analysis from Knight Frank. The independent commercial property consultancy found that £1.66 billion-worth of deals concluded last year, marginally up on the £1.64 billion recorded during 2021 and the highest since 2019’s £2.02 billion. Overseas investors continued to account for the majority of deal activity, with a 52% share of investment volumes during 2022. The purchase of 177 Bothwell Street in Glasgow by Spanish investment house Pontegadea was a record office transaction in Scotland, at more than £200 million. Property companies were by far the second most active buyers representing 35%. Nearly £500 million of offices were traded, followed by industrials, alternatives, and retail which accounted for around £300 million each. Glasgow saw the highest investment volumes of Scotland’s three largest cities at £468.54 million. Meanwhile, Aberdeen saw £143.06 million worth of deals – the highest amount since 2019, when there were transactions totalling £204.24 million.
North West firms expect more successful 2023 despite challenges
The majority of North West businesses expect 2023 to be more successful than 2022 despite challenging economic forecasts, according to the latest data from Lloyds Bank. Seven in ten businesses (71 per cent) said they are confident they would have greater success in the coming 12 months, compared to the past year. Almost a fifth (17 per cent) were not confident about being more successful in 2023 and less than one in ten (7 per cent) expected their business to perform at the same level in the next year. The research was carried out between 1 December and 14 December as part of additional polling for the monthly Lloyds Bank Business Barometer. Firms in the North West projected a more upbeat outlook for 2023 with two thirds (66 per cent) expecting a higher turnover than in 2022. More than a third of businesses (37 per cent) expect turnover to increase by between 5 per cent and 19 per cent, and a fifth (21 per cent) anticipate turnover to rise by more than 20 per cent. When businesses were asked what they would do to fuel growth, 90 per cent said they were planning an investment drive. Businesses reported that funding would be used to invest in staff training (43 per cent), grow their business (39 per cent), and expand into new markets or overseas (33 per cent).
£150m investment fund for Scotland prepares for summer launch
The British Business Bank is set to launch a £150m investment fund this summer, aimed at driving the growth of small and medium-sized businesses in Scotland. The Investment Fund for Scotland is one of a series of nations and regions funds being launched by the state-owned economic development bank, aiming to deliver £1.6bn to smaller businesses across the UK. The fund will offer a range of commercial finance options, with loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity investment of up to £5m. Similar funds are planned for Wales, Northern Ireland and the south west of England, along with follow-on funds for the Midlands and the north of England. Ken Cooper, managing director for venture solutions at the British Business Bank, said: “The new Investment Fund for Scotland builds on the success of the bank’s existing regional funds and is designed to increase the supply and diversity of finance available to smaller businesses in Scotland. Given the geographical spread of Scotland’s smaller business population, connecting with entrepreneurs in some of the more rural and hard-to-reach areas will be an important focus of the fund. While we have seen an encouraging stream of equity deals into Scottish firms over the past couple of years, the overall levels of equity investment and also private debt lending remain much lower than Scotland’s share of the UK’s small business population, so we’ll be working closely with the local small business finance ecosystem to ensure the fund provides support to innovative, ambitious business owners across the country.”
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/150m-investment-fund-scotland-prepares-28871525
Trade within UK highest among Scottish firms
Businesses in Scotland do more internal UK trade than those in any other part of the country, new figures have revealed. In the last 12 months, 53.6% of Scottish firms said they had sold goods or services to customers in other UK nations. That compares to the UK average of 35.7%. Pro-UK organisation Scotland in Union said the statistics emphasised the importance of seamless trade with the rest of the UK for Scottish jobs and the economy. The figures were revealed in the Office for National Statistics’ Business Insights and Conditions Survey and included 1,097 Scottish businesses which were asked about their trading practices for the last year to October. In total, 9,740 UK firms were surveyed. The survey also found that 55.4% of Scottish businesses “did not experience any challenges” in selling their goods to the rest of the UK.