Business News Round Up (21/03/2023)
UK Spending Index: Scotland was the only UK region to see decline in final quarter of 2022
Leading UK digital payment solutions provider takepayments has released their UK Spending Index, which analysed millions of card payments to reveal what regions have seen the highest and lowest increase in consumer spending on the high street from 2020-22. The Spending Index has revealed that Scotland had the lowest spending per person in any UK region in 2022 and it seems the cost of living crisis has hit Scottish households the hardest. These results support recent news that the Edinburgh Festival is struggling financially, and ticket sales fell 25% in 2022 as the disposable income of Scottish consumers took a hit. Jeremy Hunt has now announced in his Spring Budget that Edinburgh’s cultural festivals will receive £8.6m funding in an attempt to boost the Scottish economy. The Scottish postcodes with the highest card payment spending figures for 2022 are: EH4 (Edinburgh), KY12 (Fife), EH48 (West Lothian). The Scottish postcodes with the lowest card payment spending figures for 2022 are: KA19 (South Ayrshire), PH12 (Perth and Kinross), PH32 (Highlands & Islands). Overall findings from the spending index revealed: Spending in restaurants and bars increased 20% in 2022, while many other industries declined; Spending in Northern Ireland grew twice as fast as the UK average; The travel industry saw the highest amount of growth year on year, with a 32% increase in spending from 2021-2022.
The 10 Greater Manchester projects in line for share of £100m innovation fund
The Innovation Accelerators Programme has revealed the 10 Greater Manchester projects that will receive a share of the £100m Innovation funding announced in last week’s budget. The 10 projects will receive the funding as part of plans to create three national “innovation clusters” in Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow. The Greater Manchester cluster will focus on sustainable advanced materials and manufacturing, digital and tech, health innovation, and technology to become carbon neutral by 2038. The Greater Manchester schemes, and project leads, are: Future Homes, University of Salford (Net Zero), Greater Manchester Electro-chemical Hydrogen Cluster, Manchester Metropolitan University (Net Zero), Manchester Turing Innovation Hub (MTIH), The University of Manchester (Digital), The Development and Validation of Technology for Time Critical Genomic Testing (DEVOTE) Programme, The University of Manchester (Health), Energy Accelerator for Non-Domestic Buildings, The Growth Company (Net Zero), Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI), Manchester Metropolitan University. (Net Zero), Pilots for the Sustainable Materials Translational Research Centre (p- SMTRC), Rochdale Development Agency. (Advanced Materials), AR EdTech For Hydrogen Skills, Blair Project LTD (Net Zero), GM Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator, Health Innovation Manchester/Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Health), and MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub, The Landing at Media City UK Limited (Creative)
Almost 1 million UK businesses have £1,000 or less in savings
New research by Yell has revealed the concerning financial tightrope many UK business leaders are walking, as almost one million SMEs have £1,000 or less saved, to help them survive any decline in their revenue. The study, which surveyed just over 500 leaders of SME businesses within the UK, sought to uncover the financial landscape owners are currently facing, following a tumultuous three-year period marred by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis. With almost half (45%) of business leaders in the UK stating they can save significantly less now, than they could three years ago prior to the start of the pandemic, it’s no surprise that savings levels are so low. Based on the 5.5 million SMEs currently trading within the UK, the 17% that admit to having £1,000 or less saved, amounts to just shy of one million (935,214) businesses with extremely slim savings. As experts suggest that businesses should have 3-6 months of operating costs saved in the bank, this paints a particularly worrying picture, especially as the research also found that 1 in 10 businesses with up to 49 employees have no savings whatsoever, putting the jobs of millions at risk.
More than 1.2 million overdue invoices in Scotland this winter
Scottish firms had over 1.2 million overdue invoices on their books this winter. Insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 analysed data from Creditsafe, revealing that 416,856 were due in December, 400,272 in January and 414,575 in February. Scotland saw the biggest month-on-month increase in late payments between January and February in the UK, with numbers rising by 3.6%. More than 94,000 Scottish businesses reported that they had overdue invoices on their books this winter – a figure which peaked last month at 32,074 firms, which was 3.7% higher than the January 2023 total of 30,939. Richard Bathgate, chair of R3 in Scotland, said: “Paying invoices late can be a sign of wider issues within the business, or that it’s financially distressed, and can have a negative knock-on effect on supply chains if the payment issues from one customer are passed on by the supplier to those they owe money to.” The restructuring partner at Johnston Carmichael in Aberdeen continued: “As a company director, keeping your business financially healthy should be a top priority, and you should be alert to any signs that issues may be arising. If your business is having problems paying invoices, staff, or suppliers, or you’re worried about its finances, that’s the time to seek expert advice from a restructuring professional or licensed insolvency practitioner. “
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/more-12-million-overdue-invoices-29510157