Business News Round Up (22/06/2020)
Scotland will remain target for foreign investors
Scotland’s financial services sector is expected to remain a prime location for overseas investors in the post-pandemic economy.
Investor sentiment suggests that the UK will continue outperforming the rest of Europe as it did last year and that Scotland will be particularly attractive.
Forty per cent of investors believe the UK will be more attractive for financial services investment from overseas post COVID-19, compared to just 8% who believe Europe as a whole will be more attractive after the crisis.
The findings appear in the latest EY UK Attractiveness Report for Financial Services 2020, published today [22/06/2020].
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2020/06/scotland-will-remain-target-for-foreign-investors/
Hospitality suppliers eligible for grants up to £25,000
Supply chain businesses in the hospitality industry that have lost demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic can be awarded discretionary grants by local authorities.
The UK government published a revised FAQ clarifying that suppliers can be awarded amounts of £25,000 (US$30,925), £10,000 (US$12,370) or under £10,000 if their business demand has been impacted by the pandemic.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “It’s good to see the government acknowledging that businesses in the supply chain have been hit hard too and clarification that councils can support them with a grant.
“We urge councils to respond positively to applications by supply chain businesses hit by Covid-19 as these businesses are just as vital to the health of hospitality.
“Support needs to be comprehensive and applied right across the entire scope of the sector if we are to reopen successfully and keep as many businesses afloat and as many jobs secure as possible.”
https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2020/06/hospitality-suppliers-eligible-for-grants-up-to-25000/
Cash generation of North West businesses worryingly low ahead of COVID-19 crisis
Cash generation of businesses in the North West has stayed worryingly low heading into the cash crunch triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study by accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO, shows.
BDO’s analysis of UK businesses shows that those in the North West converted just 2.3% of the value of their sales into free cash flow on average last year, for accounts filed by March 31, 2020.
The average for businesses in the North West has stayed stubbornly low after falling from an average of 2.8% just four years ago, prior to the EU referendum.
‘Replace business rates with online tax,’ say firms
More than eight in ten executives believe that the business rates system should be replaced with an online sales tax, according to new research.
In a survey of just over a thousand business leaders, accounting firm BDO, found that 84% wanted the rates system to be overhauled.
Business rates are increasingly seen as a punitive tax on companies that need a physical presence, putting them at a disadvantage to rivals operating online.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2020/06/replace-business-rates-with-online-tax-say-firms/