Business News Round Up (22/07/2024)
Early-stage financial distress continues to climb in Scotland
Scottish businesses—like those across much of the UK—are continuing to struggle, with growing numbers seeing rising “significant” or early-stage financial distress in the second quarter of 2024, compared with both last quarter and the same period last year. According to the latest Red Flag Alert data from Begbies Traynor, the business rescue and recovery specialist, there were 30,435 businesses in Scotland during Q2 2024 that faced “significant” financial distress. This represents a 46.1% increase compared with the same quarter of 2023, and a rise of almost 9% since Q1 2024. The year-on-year figures were also markedly higher than the national picture, which showed a 36.9% increase, while the quarter-on-quarter level was close to the UK-wide figure of an 8.6% rise. Across the UK, almost 602,000 businesses saw “significant” distress in Q2 2024.
https://www.digit.fyi/early-stage-financial-distress-continues-to-climb-in-scotland/
North West company distress levels rocket by more than a third in just 12 months
A new report issued by Manchester-based insolvency expert, Begbies Traynor, today (July 22) reveals that levels of significant financial distress among businesses in the North West have soared by almost 40% in just 12 months. In the second quarter of 2024, the number of firms in the North West operating in ‘significant’ financial distress was 63,454, according to the research. This is a year-on-year increase of 39%, up from 45,579. This annual percentage increase in the region is above the national average of 37% as more than 600,000 firms across the country face financial challenges (601,950). This latest data is sourced from the Begbies Traynor Red Flag dataset which tracks key factors behind company distress and failure rates. ‘Significant distress’ refers to businesses showing deterioration in key financial ratios and indicators including those measuring working capital, contingent liabilities, retained profits and net worth.
Scottish Government invests £2.6 million in female and minority start-up support
The Scottish Government has pledged up to £2.6m for initiatives to make it easier for women and people from all backgrounds to start a business. They include a pilot programme, launching initially in the South of Scotland, which will fund specialist enterprise coaches to provide a range of advice to help individuals – particularly women and other under-represented groups – kick-start their entrepreneurial ideas. Grants of up to £1,000 will be available to give practical help to turning business concepts into a reality. The pilot will be delivered by South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) and run alongside a new Scottish Government-administered Pathways Fund to support entrepreneurial activity across Scotland. This builds on last year’s Pathways Pre-Start Fund and will provide support, mentoring and advice services for people starting a company or seeking to expand a fledging business.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-government-invests-26-million-33282446
‘Engine of the UK’s economy’: mid-sized firms set to tamp up investment in boost to growth
More than half of the UK’s mid-sized firms plan to invest at least £3m in the next five years to scale up their business. 51% of mid-sized companies, which comprise those with turnovers of between £10m and £300m and account for one-in-four UK jobs, will ringfence the sizeable amount of capital expenditure, according to a new survey. The research, which polled 500 firms, also found two-fifths plan to direct most of that investment within the UK, in a boost to jobs and productivity. The survey’s findings will be welcome news to watchers of the UK economy, which has been stagnant for much of the past fifteen years due largely to a lack of public and private sector investment. According to a recent study from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), Britain had the lowest levels of investment of any G7 economy for the third year in a row.