Business News Round Up (11/05/2021)
UK retail sales rise after easing of lockdown – BRC
UK retail sales rose 7.3% in April, boosted by strong demand after non-essential stores reopened, industry figures showed. The rate of growth from April 2019 was above the three-month average of 6% as pent-up demand and increased confidence enticed shoppers back to stores after more than three months of lockdown, the British Retail Consortium said. Non-food sales rose by a quarter on a like-for-like basis in the three months to April and by 46% in the month of April from two years earlier, when figures were unaffected by Covid-19. In the three weeks after stores reopened on 12 April, non-food sales rose 25% from March, when shops were closed. Online non-food sales rose 57% in April compared with a 4.3% gain in April 2019, but the rate of growth was less than the three month average of 83% that resulted from lockdown.
Emerging tech rockets in the North West
The North West continues to see huge investment in its businesses, with the region attracting £349m in tech VC investment during 2020, according to Tech Nation’s annual report. The region has established itself as a top performing European tech cluster following five years of bumper investment, including a 277% increase in VC funding in Manchester businesses from 2018 to 2019. Other highlights of the city’s success over the past 12 months included Manchester-based The Hut Group’s IPO, Europe’s largest-ever eCommerce IPO, which raised £1.9bn at a market capitalisation of £5.4bn. Tech Nation’s 2021 Report reveals that, following sustained years of investment in the region, the North West’s tech ecosystem has continued to thrive, creating jobs and economic value for the region.
UK GDP growth revised up to 5.7% for 2021
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has revised up its central forecast for UK economic growth in 2021 to 5.7%, compared to 3.4% in February, with 4.5% growth forecast for 2022. The significant upward revision reflects a better-than-expected first quarter, a greater resilience to further lockdowns, and the large rise in Covid-related public spending in the 2021-22 fiscal year announced in the March Budget. The immediate economic effects of the virus, which have been concentrated in low-waged service sectors, are expected to wane, while remaining negative consequences of Brexit will make themselves felt over the long-run and largely in sectors less affected by Covid-19. NIESR says the private non-traded services sector, which includes badly affected industries such as hospitality, is likely to see its output increase by 9% this year after its pandemic-induced 14.75% fall last year. However, it expects the sector to shed a further 190,000 jobs after the furlough scheme comes to an end later this year.
https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/finance-news/uk-gdp-growth-revised-up-to-57-for-2021.html
Quarter of managers in Scotland consider quitting as COVID burnout strikes
Almost two-thirds of managers in Scotland have experienced burnout at work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a quarter considering quitting their job as a result, according to new research from a not-for-profit healthcare provider, Benenden Health. Assessing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation’s workforce one year on, research has found that as many as 61% of managers in Scotland have suffered from burnout at work since the UK was first placed into lockdown, with a quarter (28%) of all managers either considering or actually quitting their job as a result of the strain on their mental wellbeing. With the Office for National Statistics reporting that the number of individuals experiencing symptoms of depression has almost doubled since the start of the pandemic, Benenden Health has examined the impact on the nation’s workforce. This has revealed the effect of COVID-19 on the working lives of managers and their subsequent experiences of burnout, which is the occurrence of exhaustion, stress, cynicism and/or feelings of reduced professional ability due to demands at work.