Business News Round Up (22/04/2022)
European markets tumble as UK retail sales decline sparks growth concerns
European markets tumbled into the red on Friday after weak UK retail sales fuelled concerns about slowing economic growth. In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) fell 0.5% after opening, while the CAC (^FCHI) tumbled 1.5% in Paris and the Frankfurt DAX (^GDAXI) was 1.1% lower. It came as the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that retail sales slumped 1.4% in March amid a sharp cost of living crisis in the country, trailing behind the 0.3% decline economists were expecting. The fall was driven by sales of food, clothing, and footwear, as well as fuel. Online sales also declined during the month due to lower levels of discretionary spending. Meanwhile, a survey from GfK showed consumer confidence fell in April for the fifth straight month to -38. This reading was the lowest since the height of the financial crisis in 2008.
CBRE research reveals office market performance across Scottish cities in Q1 of 2022
Leading real estate advisor CBRE has released its latest figures on the office markets in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen during the first quarter of 2022. Andy Cunningham, Head of CBRE’s Scottish Advisory and Transactions business, commented: “We’ve witnessed an encouraging start to the year in all three cities with the same recurring themes that were prevalent in 2021 – a flight to quality space and strong environmental credentials. It is pleasing to see Aberdeen having a particularly strong first quarter of take up, largely due to the team’s recent letting for Shell’s new HQ at The Silver Fin Building. “Going forward we suspect there will be fewer lease re-gears than in the past as the desire to have a more modern building will be stronger, and with so little supply, larger occupiers will have to commit earlier than ever to secure the best space meaning we’re likely to see an increase in pre-letting activity.”
SMEs ready to pivot to beat downtown in economy
SMEs are less optimistic about the economy but will pivot their business model in order to focus on growth, according to new research. The Azets SME Barometer reveals a fall in optimism about the economic outlook across the UK and Nordics from 68% last summer to 51%. UK SMEs are the least positive with 40% expecting the economic climate to worsen. But 62% of all SMEs expect their turnover to increase during the next year and 53% expect profits to improve. Soaring cost inflation is the biggest day-to-day challenge facing the SME community alongside serious recruitment problems. Almost three-quarters (71%) are not reducing their carbon footprint and 85% not currently measuring the carbon footprint of their business. This is despite legislative and educational measures to encourage them to do so.
Scottish Government plans to attract talent from across the UK to make a home in Scotland
Industries such as life sciences, renewables, and the space sector will be the focus of a new programme to attract a more-skilled workforce to Scotland. To help meet the skills gap in Scottish industry, business minister Ivan McKee chaired the first meeting of the Industry Advisory Group for rUK Talent Attraction. The group will help inform a programme to recruit and retain workers from the rest of the UK. The government will develop a talent attraction and migration service to bring in skilled workers and help them to make Scotland their home. Mr McKee said: “Scotland needs to attract more working age people to meet the needs of key sectors, to raise competitiveness and to ensure the workforce continues to be a positive factor in inward investment. “This industry advisory group will explore how best to shape a talent attraction programme which can expand Scotland’s talent pool at all levels, to give employers the skills pipeline needed to take advantage of opportunities, and ultimately benefit our economy. To become a competitive career destination, Scotland must match the efforts of other countries with similar challenges and ensure that we offer a high quality service of co-ordinated support to attract and retain workers and their families.”