Business News Round Up (10/02/2022)
ONS: number of UK ‘high growth’ firms has fallen by 15 per cent since 2014
The number of UK firms considered to be “high growth” job creators has plummeted by 15 per cent between 2014 and 2020, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures, compiled by Labour, showed that 14,190 firms were considered to be high growth at the end of 2014 and that this number fell to 12,090 by the end of 2020. The ONS considers high growth in this instance to mean an average 20 per cent increase of employees per annum over three years. The figures for London are less stark than nationally, with a 3.6 per cent dip over the same period. A Whitehall source argued that the figures were inflated by the pandemic, which saw the UK economy face its largest single-year collapse in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for hundreds of years.
Glasgow ranked top UK location for small business
Glasgow has emerged as the best city to work in for a small business in Britain, according to new research compiled by small business lender iwoca. It ranked areas using Office for National Statistics data on average wage, commute, job density, house price and growth of the number of small businesses. Glasgow topped the list, scoring highly on the shortness of the average commute and the growth of small businesses in the city since 2016. Glaswegians spend on average 29 minutes commuting between work and home, compared to 50 minutes in Richmond upon Thames. Between 2016 and 2021, the number of small businesses in the city also increased by 49%. With its burgeoning finance, technology and industrial sectors and plans to build a new Glasgow Metro, iwoca said the city is a natural centre for small business jobs in Scotland.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/glasgow-ranked-top-uk-location-26184562
One in six North West retailers cancel contracts over ethical and sustainable concern – report
A new report has suggested around one in six (15%) of retailers in the North West have cancelled contracts with suppliers across the last 12 months who don’t meet stringent ethical and sustainable standards. Barclays Corporate Banking’s ‘Reshaping retail: how ethics and sustainability are changing retail’s ecosystem’ concludes that the pandemic and an increasing focus on Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) are shifting business priorities. In a study of more than 300 retail decision makers, 53% in the North West say sustainability is more important now than it was two years ago and 53% say the same about ethical standards. Additionally, 73% retailers in the North West think that a long-term strategy to improve their ethical and sustainable credentials is more important than overcoming short-term supply chain disruption. On average, retail businesses with more than 10 staff are investing £504,000 per year to improve their own footprints.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/one-six-north-west-retailers-23039905
Return to offices lures home hunters back to city
As workers return to offices, new research suggests home hunters are looking at returning to Edinburgh to reduce commuting times. Online search volumes for ‘Flats to rent Edinburgh’ (up 103.31% compared to 2021), ‘flats for sale Edinburgh’ (up 56%) and ‘property for sale Edinburgh’ (up 29%) point to a significant number of people wishing to return to the capital this year. The analysis was carried out by online search firm MediaVision which compared enquiries and terms for January 2022 with the same month in 2021. The pandemic saw people escape to the suburbs, smaller towns and more rural areas, but data suggests this trend may be reversing, according to MediaVision. Searches are down for ‘houses for sale West Lothian’ (down 29%) and ‘houses for sale Falkirk’ (down 27%). It suggests a ‘boomerang effect’ that Scots aren’t as eager to get away from the city as they were at the height of the pandemic.