Business News Round Up (20/08/2020)

Scottish economy in ‘deep recession’, figures confirm

The Scottish economy has reportedly shrunk by nearly a fifth between April and June, according to official figures. New provisional figures from the Scottish Government show GDP fell by 19.7% in Q2 of the year, after having fallen 2.5% in Q1. The overall decline makes the Scottish and UK economies “among the worst performing in Europe”, the Scottish Chamber of Commerce (SCC) warned as it called for more urgent support for employers.

https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,scottish-economy-in-deep-recession-figures-confirm

British Business Bank approves four more CBILS lenders

The British Business Bank has approved four additional lenders for accreditation under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). BLG Development Finance, Conister, RM Funds and Western Union Business Solutions will be able to provide finance to smaller businesses with turnover of up to £45 million that are suffering disruption to their cashflow due to lost or deferred revenues during the Covid-19 pandemic. They will now put in place the operations required to start lending under the scheme and will confirm the dates from which they will be ready to start receiving applications from UK businesses.

https://www.insidermedia.com/news/national/british-business-bank-approves-four-more-cbils-lenders

Edinburgh office market ‘able to withstand slump’

Edinburgh’s office market is in a strong position to weather the recession, property experts have claimed, despite predictions of an industry shake-up amid the push to more home-working. Property consultancy Knight Frank said the vacancy rate for all grades of office space across the city was unlikely to exceed 8.5%, less than half the rate registered in the aftermath of the financial crisis just over a decade ago.  Further analysis has found that occupiers are still looking for some 500,000 square feet of space, with around 417,000 square feet of high-quality “Grade A” accommodation available.

https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2020/08/edinburgh-office-market-able-to-withstand-slump/

Online shopping leads recovery in UK consumer spending

U.K. consumer spending jumped the most since 2016 last month, led by a surge in Internet purchases as bars and restaurants continued to suffer. Online demand increased 16.2% in July compared to the previous year, according to a monthly index by Visa and IHS Markit. Total spending rose 2.4%, while hotels, bars and restaurants say an 18% drop. Household goods, as well as food and beverages continued to see improvement. But the slump in face-to-face spending has already led to store closures and job losses.

https://www.paymentssource.com/articles/online-shopping-leads-recovery-in-u-k-consumer-spending