Business News Round Up (14/07/2026)
Business failures in Scotland rise but remain below recent peak
Business failures in Scotland have increased, with 39 companies filing for administration in the first six months of 2026 – up from 31 during the same period in 2025, according to analysis by Shakespeare Martineau. Analysis of data from The Gazette Official Public Record shows that, while administrations increased year-on-year, the figure remains below the 41 recorded in the first half of 2024. Scotland recorded 27 administrations during H1 of 2023 and 28 in 2022. Looking at the UK by constituent country, England recorded the highest number of administrations with 1,098, followed by Scotland (39), Wales (17) and Northern Ireland (5). The Scottish figures form part of a wider national picture, with UK administrations reaching their highest level since 2010. Across the UK, 1,159 companies entered administration in the first six months of 2026 – a 48% increase from the 783 recorded during the same period in 2025.
NW logistics take-up rises 19% in H1 as big box deals return and rents hit fresh highs
The North West logistics market gathered significant pace during the first half of 2026, according to the latest market review by BOX4 Real Estate. The Stafford-based industrial and logistics agency team says occupiers completed 23 transactions totalling 2.36 million sq-ft during the first half of the year, up 19.1% by floorspace and 35% by transaction volume on H1 2025, as deferred decisions from last year began to convert into completed deals. Activity accelerated sharply through the period. Having started the year slowly, the market recorded c.1.82 million sq-ft of transactions across 16 deals in the second quarter alone, more than three times the volume transacted in Q1, as both mid-sized regional occupiers and, notably, larger corporates returned to the market. The 50,000-100,000 sq-ft size band was the stand out performer, accounting for 70% of transactions by volume and 44% by floorspace.
£500m boost to SMEs and scaleups from UK Gov and British Business Bank
SMEs and scaleups are set to receive £500m in new funding from the UK government to boost job creation and business growth. The gap between the SME demand for finance and the amount available is estimated to be between £1.6 billion to £4.1 billion per year. Improving this access is key to unlocking greater business investment, growth and productivity across the UK. The centrepiece of plans is an expansion of the British Business Bank’s (BBB) Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) which provides a 70% government guarantee on commercial loans to SMEs of up to £2 million, cutting credit risk and turning ‘no’s into ‘yeses’. Since its launch in 2022, the scheme has delivered over £3.7 billion of financing to UK SMEs with £2.5 billion of this reaching businesses outside of London and the Southeast. Every £1 spent on the scheme is estimated to support around £10 of lending by banks.
https://www.digit.fyi/500m-boost-to-smes-and-scaleups-from-uk-gov-and-british-business-bank
Grade A office investment push for Preston as Government urged to put regional outpost in city
The government is being urged to make a regional outpost of one of its biggest departments the centrepiece of a long-planned transformation of Preston city centre. A vision for the regeneration of an area branded the ‘Station Quarter’ – based around the Fishergate Shopping Centre – was first unveiled back in 2022. The first phase of the proposal – for which formal plans were submitted to Preston City Council last December – would see the creation of five office blocks on the current car park of the retail facility. The buildings – between nine and 15 storeys tall – would offer the kind of ‘Grade A’ office space Preston is deemed to lack. The aim is to attract public and private sector organisations to the development – both by bringing in new companies and government departments to Preston and retaining those already in the city, but currently based in other accommodation.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/commercial-property/grade-office-investment-push-preston-34284262