Business News Round Up (13/02/2024)
More than 40,000 new businesses launched in Scotland last year
Scotland is experiencing a start-up boom, with over 40,000 new businesses setting up shop last year – up 12% on the number of new companies incorporated in 2022. This makes Scotland the third fastest growing region in the UK for newly registered businesses in 2023, after Northern Ireland (+59%) and London (+20%). Last year the uplift in growth in Scotland was driven in the property letting space, with 2,440 new businesses starting in the sector, while 2,148 new online retail businesses also began operating. In third place, 1,839 new takeaway shops and street food stands were launched in 2023. Beauhurst and the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Startup Index also revealed growth in female-founded businesses, with a record 164,000 companies incorporated by women in the UK in 2023, up 4% on 2022 and taking growth in the five years between 2019 and 2023 to 26% overall.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/more-40000-new-businesses-launched-32105397
Brexit dealt a 5% blow to the UK economy, says Goldman Sachs
The UK economy is now 5% smaller than it would have been if the nation had opted to remain within the European Union, as outlined by an evaluation conducted by Goldman Sachs. A significant downturn in UK goods trade, decreased business investment, and a notable rise in non-EU migrants coming to Britain for studies rather than employment have hampered economic expansion. Analysts at the American investment bank highlighted that “the UK has notably lagged behind other developed economies since the 2016 EU referendum, experiencing slower growth and higher inflation”. It was estimated that consumer prices had surged by 31% in Britain since 2016. In comparison, the United States and the eurozone saw increases of 27% and 24%, respectively. Increased trade hurdles have driven up the costs associated with goods exchange, thereby exerting upward pressure on prices, according to Goldman.
https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/brexit-dealt-a-5-blow-to-the-uk-economy-says-goldman-sachs/
Hotel occupancy back to pre-pandemic levels
Hotel occupancy rates in Scotland reached pre-pandemic levels for the first time last month, marking a strong end to the year for the industry. The data, which is compiled and produced by Hotstats and analysed by RSM UK, showed occupancy hit 67%, in line with the rate in December 2019. Hoteliers were able to increase their rates during the festive season, with average daily rates (ADR) of occupied rooms up from £109.43 (November) to £129.69 (December) in Scotland. ADR in Scotland is significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels (£93.28 in December 2019), and also up on December 2022 (£117.48). Revenue per available room (REVPAR) increased from £80.53 (November) to £87.05 (December) in Scotland. Gross operating profits in Scotland were also up from 22.3% in November to 25.8% in December, whereas in the UK they remained flat, falling slightly from 35% to 34.9%.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2024/02/hotel-occupancy-back-to-pre-pandemic-levels/
83% of UK’s businesses not flexible enough for employees, new research highlights
New research released today highlights that nearly 50% of respondents would reject a substantial 15% pay increase if it meant forfeiting workplace flexibility, even in a challenging financial climate. Despite attractive flexible working policies outweighing the need for increased remuneration, the research – conducted by payroll and HR software company PayFit – also shows that a sizable 83% of those surveyed felt improvement was needed to their current workplace’s flexible working policies. These new findings highlight a growing concern that businesses may not be adequately addressing talent retention issues, risking a potential talent drain to more flexible competitors following the release of expanded flexible working guidelines on April 6, 2024. When in force, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill will grant millions of UK workers the right to request adjustments to particular terms and conditions of employment, including working hours, times, and locations.