Business News Round Up (09/11/2023)
Only 1% of SMEs are scale-up, yet they contribute £500 billion to the UK economy
Only 1% of UK’s SMEs are ‘scale-ups’, generating nearly £500bn a year, new research shows today. With 1 in 6 of them being in health and social work, and IT also dominating, it highlights the strengths and potential of the UK economy. New research published today by the Social Market Foundation think tank, and sponsored by OakNorth, utilises restricted access data from the Office for National Statistics to identify the fastest growing small and medium-sized firms, and their characteristics. It highlights the contribution scale-ups – firms with high-growth potential – make to the economy. Scale-ups (defined in the research as small and medium sized enterprises growing at 20% on average each year between 2018 and 2021) are 1% of all UK SMEs, but account for over a fifth (22%) of all SME turnover, amounting to £497bn.
Post-lockdown hiring boom over as activity slows
The post-lockdown hiring boom is over and increased uncertainty is weighing on business decisions, according to new data pointing to a weakening in recruitment. Research from Royal Bank of Scotland shows sustained downturns for both permanent and temporary staff and a steep deterioration in vacancies. Recruitment problems were exacerbated by a mismatch of skills with starting salaries and temporary wages rising for the 35th month running in October as firms raised their pay offers to secure scarce and suitably skilled candidates. The number of people placed into permanent job roles also contracted at the UK level, and at a sharper pace than that recorded in Scotland. Across the eight monitored job categories, Engineering & Construction posted the strongest reduction in temporary vacancies, followed by Executive & Professional.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2023/11/post-lockdown-hiring-boom-over-as-activity-slows/
Greater Manchester businesses boosted by £45 million from NPIF backed investment fund
Businesses in Greater Manchester have secured nearly £45 million of investment from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). The investment has attracted co-investment of over £70 million from the private sector, resulting in an impact on businesses in the city-region of over £115 million. The fund has support high-growth business across a wide range of sectors, from manufacturing to financial services. Among the recent beneficiaries of NPIF – FW Capital investment is Trafford Park based KBF Enterprises, the company behind sports nutrition brand, Warrior. Funding has helped the business enjoy significant growth, culminating in the recent announcement of a £1.75 million factory and acquisition of an additional 10,000 sq. ft warehouse that will enable production output to grow 400%.
Scottish footfall down on 2022 levels for second consecutive month
The latest insights from retail experts MRI Software (previously MRI Springboard) for October 2023 have revealed year-on-year Scottish footfall dropped for the second consecutive month, as consumers continue to feel the pinch of cost of living. Footfall in Scotland was down -2.5% compared to September and down -2.3% compared to last October, only the second annual decline since April 2021. With Christmas approaching, consumers continue to hold back spending on non-essential items. Footfall declined year-on-year at high streets (-2.7%) and shopping centres (-5.2%) with retail parks the only destination to see a marginal annual gain (+1.7%). Footfall across Scotland’s retail destinations declined by -2.5% from September to October, a continuation of the drop in footfall seen in August to September of -7.8%.