Business News Round Up (10/05/2024)
Scottish small business confidence at highest level in two years, index shows
Small businesses in Scotland are more upbeat than they have been for two years, a small business group says. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Index for Q1 2024 revealed that business optimism has risen to a positive score of 10.7 on the index, surpassing the UK average of 5.5. The FSB says the optimism is likely due to increasing consumer expenditure and overall economic growth. Despite this, it warned of the persistent challenges faced by smaller firms, as many reported decreases in revenue and staffing levels. The SBI discovered that over a third of small businesses (34.8%) in Scotland expect their performance to improve in the next quarter, while less than a quarter (24.1%) anticipate it will deteriorate. These findings reveal the most positive outlook since the initial quarter of 2022 and comes after three back-to-back quarters of negative sentiment.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-small-business-confidence-highest-32774161
UK exits recession with 0.6% first quarter growth
The UK economy exited last year’s technical recession with faster than expected growth of 0.6 per cent for the first quarter of 2024, providing welcome economic news for Rishi Sunak ahead of the general election. The quarter-on-quarter growth figure was the fastest since 2021 and boosted by car manufacturing and broad-based growth in services. It beat the 0.4 per cent forecast by the Bank of England and economists polled by Reuters. The GDP numbers released by the Office for National Statistics on Friday marked the UK’s formal recovery from the shallow recession of the second half of 2023, when output slightly fell for two consecutive quarters, hit by high borrowing costs and prices.
The 0.6 per cent figure also represented the strongest growth for any G7 country with available data, comparing with 0.3 per cent for the Eurozone over the same period and 0.4 per cent for the US.
https://www.ft.com/content/e856ffbd-3b96-4ca3-8e03-47a96b8d035e
North West enjoys record Start Up Loans support from British Business Bank
North West start-up businesses received £16.6m of loans from the British Business Bank last year, with Manchester winning the lion’s share of financial support. New data reveals that the bank provided 1,269 businesses in the North West with funding during 2023/24. The bank provided almost £7m-worth of Start Up Loan funding to Greater Manchester businesses. Funding to entrepreneurs in the Manchester local authority area was distributed to 143 businesses, with an average loan of £13,565. Cheshire East followed closely behind, with more than £1.3m being provided to 91 businesses – an average loan of £14,658 per business. Liverpool received loans for 84 businesses, worth £1.029m, – an average loan of £12,255. Businesses across a range of sectors received a Start Up Loan this year, including sustainable subscription services platform, Wuva, ecological consultants Evelyn Ecology, and dessert business Layers Treats.
Bruntwood SciTech cancel Glasgow Met Tower development plans
The Met Tower revamp was supposed to be completed by Winter 2024, with plans for a second tower set to finish in 2025. Bruntwood SciTech’s ambitious plans to redevelop the Glasgow Met Tower as a bustling digital hub have been cancelled. Known for its iconic People Make Glasgow sign, the 14-story building which is – depending on your take – a monstrosity or marvel of modern architecture, was set to be completely refurbished into a shiny office space. The £60m project was announced by Bruntwood SciTech just last November, after they bought the building in 2022. The listed building was previously owned by Glasgow City College but was out of use since 2014. However, the company has since pulled the plug on operations, citing “significant changes” to economic conditions, as well as the construction market. Now, the company is looking at alternative options for the building.
https://www.digit.fyi/bruntwood-scitech-cancel-glasgow-met-tower-development-plans/