Business News Round Up (14/06/2024)
Small business productivity declines in the UK’s best performing regions
UK small business productivity is equalising across regions, but this is largely due to declines in traditionally higher performing regions, according to a new report from global small business platform, Xero. The Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) special report, small business productivity: Industry and regional trends, released today, examines the productivity performance of selected industries and regions across the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The report, which is based on anonymised and aggregated data from more than 240,000 Xero small business customers across the three countries, builds on an earlier XSBI report and looks at small business labour productivity at the industry and regional level. When comparing the last two years (January 2022 to December 2023) with the period before the pandemic (January 2017 to February 2020), the productivity gap between the UK’s best and worst performing regions has narrowed.
Warning that UK growth could be hit as long-term sickness hits record
The UK unemployment report for the three months ending April 2024 was released on Tuesday morning, coming in at 4.4%, according to the Office for National Statistics. This was more than both the previous period and analyst expectations of 4.3%. This was also the highest figure since September 2021. The number of people without a job rose to 1.51 million, inching up 24,000. A significant portion of this number was made up by people who did not have a job for the last 6 months. The number of people without jobs for more than 6 months, going up to 12 months also rose, as did the number of people who were unemployed for more than a year. Furthermore, during this period, the number of economically inactive people reached 9.43 million. These are those who are classified as people who are neither currently working nor looking for a new job.
Edinburgh Uni top globally for industry, innovation, and infrastructure
The University of Edinburgh has been ranked as one of the top universities in the world for its contribution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the latest Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. Assessing the social, environmental, and economic impacts of universities across the globe, The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings classed the university as joint first regarding the UN’s SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. This particular goal concerns promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, building resilient infrastructure, and fostering innovation across the globe. The University of Edinburgh scored full marks—100 out of 100—for its contribution in this area, which included its research, research income from industry, patents citing university research, and the number of spinouts to come from the university. The university was the only one in the UK to share joint first place in this category, which it shared alongside nine other universities worldwide.
https://www.digit.fyi/edinburgh-uni-top-globally-for-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure/
Flex office working group Cubo acquires WeWork Manchester site
Boutique flex office operator, Cubo, has acquired WeWork’s Manchester site at No.1 Spinningfields, for an undisclosed sum. WeWork has six sites around the UK and Cubo said it is in active negotiations to acquire more. Cubo has worked closely with Schroder Real Estate Investment Management to take over three floors at No.1 Spinningfields. The deal was struck and completed rapidly. It covers more than 1,100 desks over nearly 60,000 sq ft. Cubo moved into Manchester at the beginning of 2024, initially taking one floor at the nearby Lincoln Building. Due to unprecedented demand, a second floor was taken shortly afterwards, which has resulted in occupancy levels reaching more than 90% in just three months. The acquisition of No 1 Spinningfields forms part of ambitious plans announced by Cubo founders Marc and Rebecca Brough to almost double its footprint nationally – a growth strategy backed by investment firm Literacy Capital Plc.