Business News Round Up (17/03/2023)
UK business optimism rebounds in 2023
Global business expectations have improved dramatically over the last five months, according to a new study. In particular, the expectations of UK businesses for economic activity have risen by a net balance of more than 20%. The economic outlook of the UK still seems uncertain at present. The cumulative toll of the Brexit process, the pandemic, and the hyper-inflation of the last year, have all seen business positivity decline, with many leaders anticipating difficult times ahead. For the first time in a while, however, a growing number of experts seem to believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. A new study from Accenture and S&P Global suggests that UK bosses – and their global counterparts – believe the future may be brighter than previously anticipated. Researchers polled 12,000 businesses around the world, including 1,400 across Britain, and found that business confidence now stands at its highest level in 12 months. On a global level, around 16% of businesses told analysts they expected activity such as revenues to rise in October 2022. In February 2023, though, this had risen to roughly one-third of respondents. The countries which were most upbeat on this front were Ireland and the UK – both which saw more than 40% of respondents anticipate positive activity. While UK businesses are still slightly less optimistic than their Irish equivalents, they exhibited a far greater net-change in positivity. This saw their headline index rebound from a record low of 18% in October, to 43% as of February.
https://www.consultancy.uk/news/33792/uk-business-optimism-rebounds-in-2023
Postcode lottery for property relief in Scotland could deter investment – Knight Frank
New rules being brought in as part of changes to the non-domestic rates system in Scotland could cause confusion for landlords and property investors, particularly in the industrial sector, according to Knight Frank. Among the changes being brought in as part of the most recent settlement between the Scottish Government and local authorities, empty property relief will be devolved to councils from April 1st, 2023, allowing them to set different rules and conditions for exemption. Under the current relief regime applied nationally, vacant industrial properties are given 100% for six months, followed by 10% thereafter. However, some local authorities have already proposed changes and others will likely choose to do so in the future, with the reliefs set to be reviewed annually. In the north east, for instance, Aberdeen City Council has proposed that vacant industrial properties will receive three months of 50% relief on rates, then falling to 10%. By contrast, neighbouring Aberdeenshire Council is planning to maintain the current regime for rates relief, creating quite different systems only a few miles apart. In the case of two comparably sized vacant industrial properties with the same rateable value located in Westhill and Dyce, the landlord of the property in Dyce would have to pay 56% more in vacant business rates over 12 months.
Greater Manchester agrees transport devolution deal
More detail has been provided about a significant new transport devolution deal for Greater Manchester which will help create a more London-style integrated travel system. The Trailblazer Deal includes more influence on regional rail services as part of plans to create a new transport system, called the Bee Network, by 2030. The network will build on existing plans for transport integration between trams and buses through franchising by looking to integrate bus, Metrolink, rail, and cycle hire with improved services, simpler fares and integrated ticketing. This includes London-style touch in and out integrated fares and ticketing across bus, Metrolink and rail. Through a new Rail Partnership with Great British Railways, the first pilots on integrated fares and ticketing are set to be agreed by the end of the year. Transport commissioner Vernon Everitt said: “The integrated Bee Network will transform how people move around our growing city-region and radically improve what it is like to do business here for generations to come. Better rail services are critical elements in delivering this. “We are supportive of rail reform under Great British Railways (GBR) and I very much welcome this Trailblazer Deal. It provides a firm foundation for effective partnership working with GBR with clear initial actions to enable full integration of local rail services into the Bee Network by 2030.”
Record high food and drink exports despite Brexit
Scotland’s food and drink industry has shrugged off the impact of Brexit to record the highest exports on record. The sale of food and drink to the world was worth £8 billion in 2022, up by a third (30.6%) on the previous year and 8.1% above the 2019 pre-Covid peak, according to HMRC trade statistics. Scotland’s total goods exports increased by 20.5% compared with 2021, greater than the 13.3% increase experienced by the UK as a whole. The EU market was worth £9.4 billion to Scotland. Food exports have risen to an all-time high of £1.9 billion – up 12.8% on 2021, complementing another strong year for the drinks sector. Scotch whisky exports grew by 37.2% compared to the previous year, representing £1.7bn growth. This was largely from Asia and Oceania – Singapore, India and Taiwan in particular – but the US remains the biggest national market for the national drink. Despite the SNP’s continued opposition to Brexit, the EU remained a key market and Scottish Government Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the data was “hugely welcome”. She added: “The food and drink industry is vital to Scotland. It creates jobs, wealth and helps attract people to the country by promoting our produce around the globe. The Scottish Government has long supported the sector – particularly through the various challenges of the last few years caused by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising inflation.”
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2023/03/record-high-food-and-drink-exports-despite-brexit/