Business News Round Up (07/02/2020)
High street bounces back amid new year spending spree
British high streets experienced their month for in-store sales in six years during January, on the back of easing political tension and heaving discounting, according to a new report. High Street Sales Tracker (HSST), by accountancy firm BDO, reported a 5.7% increase in like-for-like in-store sales for January, with strong performances seen in the lifestyle, fashion and homeware sectors. However, BDO also warned that any recovery is still at an early and unpredictable stage and it remains to be seen if any improvement in confidence will meaningfully boost the high street.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/high-street-bounces-back-amid-21444588
Strong rise in secure employment
Permanent staff appointments continued to rise in January at the fastest rate in the current three-month sequence of expansion, according to a new report by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The January edition of the Report on Jobs revealed temporary billings fell for the second month running, with the pace of decline being the second sharpest since October 2016. The trend in Scotland was mirrored throughout the UK, where permanent replacements also rose at a faster rate than December, although the increase in Scotland outpaced the UK as a whole. At the same time, temporary staff billings declined for the second month running in January, marking the first back-to-back fall in over three years.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/strong-rise-in-secure-employment-tr68v2smc
SME funding body exceeds 1,500 businesses supported
More than 1,500 businesses in the Liverpool City Region have secured extra funding from the MSIF Finance Hub. Launched in 2017, the MSIF Finance Hub works with SMEs, start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs to prepare them for funding success and act as a single point of access to finance for the city region. As well as financial support, the hub has access to a collaborative network of more than 180 referral partners, it provides a free service to individual businesses by helping with key financial information, ensuring that businesses are investment ready.
Skills drain from Lancashire sees the region lose billion of pounds each year
The Lancashire economy is potentially losing billions of pounds each year, because of skills drain out of the region, according to new research. In a study by the Lancashire Institute for Economic and Business Research (LIEBR) at University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) it has been found that the 800,000 commuters who work outside of the region could be taking some £4.3bn out of the economy each year. The study found that a lack of high-skilled jobs in the region could be costing the Lancashire economy £7bn each year, due to people seeking employment elsewhere.