Business News Round Up (17/07/2025)
NW businesses suffer rise in overdue invoices as conditions get tougher
The number of overdue invoices on the books of North West businesses hit more than 1.8 million in the second quarter of 2025, according to new research from R3, the UK’s restructuring, turnaround and insolvency trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows there were 1,881,070 overdue invoices on the books of the region’s businesses in the period – with 628,125 in April, 622,420 in May, and 630,525 in June. This is a rise of 12.5% compared with the second quarter of 2024’s total of 1,671,379. Overdue invoice numbers also rose by more than 9,000 in Q2 2025 when compared with Q1 2025’s total of 1,871,844. The total number of North West companies with overdue invoices on their books also rose by 7.3% in Q2 2025 when compared with the same period last year, rising from 166,693 to 178,878.
Income tax a barrier to creating 16k jobs, says EY
Scotland’s income tax regime is once again in the firing line as a new report reiterates concerns that it is a barrier to growth in the financial services sector. Research by EY finds high personal tax, a lack of government support in R&D and challenges attracting top-tier international talent are the biggest headwinds to the sector. Scotland has the potential to increase the gross value add (GVA) of financial services by up to 21% by 2028 if key competitive advantages are harnessed and barriers to growth addressed, according to the research. In Accelerating Growth in Scotland’s Financial Services Sector, EY says this rate of growth across Scottish financial services, not including related professional services, could add 16,000 jobs to Scotland’s financial services industry and bring total employment in the sector to 105,000 by 2028, from the current 89,000.
R3: Overdue invoices top 1.8 million in Scotland as pressure mounts
The number of overdue invoices on the books of Scottish businesses hit more than 1.8 million in Q2 2025, according to new research from R3. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows there were 1,820,706 overdue invoices on the books of Scottish businesses in Q2 2025 – with 602,822 in April, 589,298 in May, and 628,586 in June. This is a rise of 24.5% compared to Q2 2024’s total of 1,462,590. Looking at the wider UK picture, Scotland saw the second largest percentage increase in overdue invoice numbers, preceded only by the West Midlands which saw a rise of 28.8%. The total number of Scottish companies with overdue invoices on their books also rose by 14.7% in Q2 2025 when compared to the same period last year, rising from 107,490 to 123,299.
UK regions set for £1m Regional Tech Booster programme
Some UK regions are set to benefit from a new £1m government programme which aims to boost tech innovation and growth outside London. Scotland, the North East, Humber & East and South Yorkshire are the focus of the investment which will provide mentoring, funding access and skills development for entrepreneurs. The Regional Tech Booster programme, aimed at accelerating the growth of tech clusters and early-stage digital startups, will be run by the UK Tech Cluster Group. Its tailored support for tech founders will include mentoring, investment promotion events and workshops to share best practices across communities. The initiative complements existing government support for regional development, including Project Gigabit, the Local Innovation Partnership Fund, AI Growth Zones, and digital skills programmes.
https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/uk-regions-set-for-1m-regional-tech-booster-programme