Business News Round Up (16/06/2025)
Glasgow ‘needs city-region powers and a mayor’
Glasgow is at risk of falling behind England’s major cities unless it assumes more powers under a directly elected “city region mayor”, according to a think tank. Centre for Cities says Glasgow will fail to fulfil its economic potential unless it unites with the seven neighbouring local authorities in the City region area to focus on transport, housing, skills and economic development. The research group estimates that if Glasgow performed in line with cities of comparable size in other countries, Scotland’s economy could be up to 4.6% larger – the equivalent of doubling the size of Scotland’s oil and gas sector. Over half of the people who work in the city live in neighbouring local authority areas but decisions over transport, planning and housing are made separately and without coordinated leadership, says its report, The Missing Piece in the Big Cities Jigsaw.
NW manufacturers enjoy strong early summer, but concerns over future growth
North West manufacturers have enjoyed a strong early summer following a surge in orders for the aerospace and defence sector according to a major survey published by Make UK and business advisory firm BDO. The Q2 Manufacturing Outlook survey showed that output in the region climbed to a balance of +23% which is high by historical standards, while orders were also positive at +8%. This performance has translated into a boost for job prospects with recruitment intentions positive at +15%. Meanwhile investment (+54%) is also being ramped up to meet this demand. This positive picture is likely to be connected to a recovery in the automotive sector, as well as a surge in orders in the aerospace and defence sectors where the North West has a strong presence.
Scots Gov funding targets ‘valley of death’ for spinout research
The Scottish Government has announced new details surrounding its plans for boosting university spinouts in the hope of building on the country’s reputation as a ‘startup nation’. Three new initiatives, backed by £4.4 million in public funding, are being launched to help turn ground-breaking research across Scotland’s universities and colleges into high-growth businesses. The package includes £700,000 for an Entrepreneurial Campus Blueprint, which will help college students develop business skills and link up with investors, as well as £800,000 for a Spinout Pipeline Project which, led by the University of Strathclyde, to share commercialisation expertise across Scottish universities, ending in a summit where innovators will pitch to potential investors. A further £141,000, spent over two years, will support a new course at the University of Aberdeen to train 40 high school computing teachers, better preparing future generations for careers in tech-based businesses.
https://www.digit.fyi/scots-gov-funding-targets-valley-of-death-for-spinout-research
High street bank lending to SMEs hit highest level since 2022
High street banks increased lending to SMEs in Q1 of 2025, reaching £4.6bn. This marked the sixth consecutive quarter of rising lending and was the highest figure since Q2 2022. The increase stood at 14% year-on-year, with sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and health seeing most of the growth. Lending was particularly strong among the smallest businesses, with those turning over up to £2m a year seeing lending up nearly 30% compared to the same period the year before. Lending to medium-sized businesses rose by 9%. Approvals for loans and overdrafts also went up year-on-year. Approvals for new loans were 37% higher than in Q1 2024, with overdraft approvals up by 8%. Most sectors saw more approvals, although the total value of these approvals fell compared to last year. Utilisation rates stayed steady at around 50%, showing that businesses kept some headroom within their current finance facilities.