Business News Round Up (12/07/2021)
UK corporates rush to invest as economy reopens – Deloitte
Big businesses in Britain are rushing ahead with post-lockdown investment plans that could usher in a long-awaited improvement in the country’s weak productivity growth, a survey of chief finance officers showed. Accountancy firm Deloitte said its poll found CFOs were planning to increase investment, as well as hiring, at the fastest pace in almost seven years and were their most aggressive about acquisitions in 11 years. Many firms around the world have ramped up their spending on digital technology in response to the coronavirus pandemic which up-ended their working practices. Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said CFOs were much less concerned about Brexit. COVID-19 was still the top of the worry list, followed by inflation and climate change. Over three quarters of CFOs reported growing recruitment problems.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-corporates-rush-invest-economy-reopens-deloitte-2021-07-11/
Scotland’s construction sector could see up to 10% of businesses close
Scotland’s construction sector could see a high risk of business closures with the expiry of temporary measures introduced and the removal of financial support schemes, Azets has warned. Up to 10% of the construction industry is at risk of failure a sector restructuring specialist warns. The removal of temporary measures introduced under Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) and financial aid could lead to many insolvencies. CIGA introduced a number of temporary measures to provide protection for businesses impacted by the pandemic and for directors running companies have become insolvent. Those temporary measures, including restrictions on winding-up processes and the suspension of wrongful trading rules have likely prevented a significant number of business failures.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scotlands-construction-sector-could-see-24514374
Brexit: Eight in 10 businesses believe leaving EU will cause long-term hurt for UK economy
More than eight in 10 business owners believe Brexit will have a long-term negative impact on trading with almost half reporting a hit from the UK’s exit from the European Union at the turn of this year, a survey conducted for inews has found. Conducted six months after Brexit, the survey of firms by tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg also found that 80 per cent of respondents found the Covid-19 pandemic has hit firms harder than Brexit, but that in the longer term the ending of free trade with the EU will have a more detrimental effect. Alex Altmann, head of the Brexit advisory team at Blick Rothenberg, said: “While 47 per cent of the responders said that the first six months after Brexit had either a negative or very negative impact to their business, close to 80 per cent said the disruptions due to the pandemic had an even more negative impact to their business than Brexit.
Business activity in the North West continues its rapid recovery, according to new NatWest data
Business activity across the North West private sector continued its recovery in June, with the pace of growth easing only slightly from May’s record high, latest UK regional PMI data from NatWest has revealed. However, the data shows that the rebound in activity was accompanied by a record increase in average prices charged for goods and services amid soaring cost pressures. The headline North West Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – registered 65.0 last month, down slightly from an all-time high of 66.4 in May. Supporting growth in activity was a sustained upturn in inflows of new work, linked to the reopening of the economy and improved confidence among clients. Businesses in the North West reported another month of sharply rising inflows of new work in June, as client demand continued to recover in line with the easing of virus containment measures.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/business-activity-north-west-continues-21010344