Business News Round Up (17/02/2020)
FSB calls for action as small business confidence tanks
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for action on issues impacting small businesses as a new report reveals profits and confidence levels dropped towards the end of 2019. New figures show the Scottish Small Business Index (SBI) fell by 13.7 points to -27.2 in the final quarter of 2019, whereas UK small business confidence fell 13.5 points to -21.6. London was the only region in the UK where there was less optimism at -36.4.
https://www.scotsman.com/business/fsb-calls-for-action-as-small-business-confidence-tanks-1-5091042
‘Almost 10,000’ retail jobs lost this year
New research has revealed the UK has suffered almost 10,000 retail job losses so far in 2020, with more forecast in the future. In total, 9,949 jobs have been lost in 2020 according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). The UK retail sector employs approximately three million people, equating to one in 300 jobs lost this year in 2020. According to the CRR, the retail sector lost 143,100 jobs in total in 2019.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51258659
177 Bothwell Street to contribute £2.8 billion to Scotland’s economy
A new office development at 177 Bothwell Street in Glasgow is set to generate £2.8 billion for the Scottish economy, according to estimates carried out by economic and social research consultants EKOS. The report shows the new building will have a long-term impact of more than £1.8 billion gross value added (GVA) and a further billion over the next 25 years. Once fully occupied, 177 Bothwell Street is expected to account for £205 million GVA annually, and construction work is estimated to have a one-off GVA contribution of £51 million, generating more than 800 jobs in the construction sector.
£1.5 million awarded to UK tech projects to cut congestion
The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has announced a £1.5 million boost to a government fund for tech SMEs to help tackle issues around congestion. The funding is part of the Govtech Catalyst and aims to invest in new ways to use data to reduce the high costs to the UK economy arising from congestion. The winning tech projects include software that monitors traffic and flags incidents in real time, tools which predict and tackle congestion by helping traffic controllers understand how to keep traffic moving, and the mapping of vehicle tracks to determine ‘paths,’ optimising and improving traffic signals in the city.