Business News Round Up (09/03/2021)
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UK retail sales return to growth amid economic reopening optimism – BRC
The optimism heading into the gradual re-opening of the economy drove the UK retail spending into the positive territory in February, a survey conducted by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body showed. It’s a measure of overall retail spending at major retail chains rose by 1.0% in February compared with the same month last year, faster than the average growth rate of 0.6% in the past three months. Over the three months to February, total food sales increased 7.9% but sales of non-food items fell by 5.5%. Separately, a survey conducted by payment card firm Barclaycard revealed that confidence in the economy hit a 12-month high in February. Consumer spending was 13.8% lower than a year before, similar to January’s plunge of around 16%, Barclaycard said.
Scotland’s first Climate Tech Report highlights global opportunities
Scotland is playing a leading role to develop new technology that can help meet the challenge of global climate change, according to Scotland’s first analysis of the sector. The report, which was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise, has been launched today by ScotlandIS, the membership and cluster management organisation for the digital technologies industry in Scotland. The research demonstrates that Scotland has both strength and depth in emerging climate technology and highlights an exciting array of initiatives by Scottish organisations in the climate tech space. The report highlights the global opportunities for Scotland’s tech community to capitalise on climate technology needs across a range of sectors, including energy, the built environment, land-use, and transport.
UK goods exports slumped £54bn in 2020 and Brexit will hamper recovery, report finds
The UK’s goods exports slumped by £54bn in 2020 as the country lost market share to competitors as Covid-19 hammered global trade, new research shows. The findings show that the UK suffered a 14.7 per cent fall in goods exports – one of the largest of any major country – and also saw a slower recovery as other nations took market share in key export destinations. Researchers at Aston University’s Centre for Business Prosperity said “considerable post-Brexit challenges” threatened to derail any recovery from the pandemic. “It is anticipated that the combination of Covid, Brexit and the UK’s long-term productivity challenges will put British businesses in an adverse position for the foreseeable future,” the report’s authors wrote.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/brexit-uk-goods-exports-covid-b1813860.html
Hybrid working will become the norm
Working from home some of the time, or hybrid working, will become “the norm” for many companies after the pandemic, says global workspace provider IWG. Firms will be looking to save money and be more environment-friendly by using less office space, said IWG chief executive Mark Dixon. IWG said 2020 had been a “challenging” year as fewer firms rented its offices. But it said it was ready to take advantage of “accelerating demand” for hybrid working. The coronavirus crisis hit IWG hard, with waning demand for its services leading to a pre-tax loss of £620m last year, according to newly released results.