Business News Round Up (23/08/2022)
UK business’ exporting expertise is on the decline, government survey finds
Companies have lost essential know-how in how to sell their goods overseas, a new survey by the Department for International Trade (DIT) has found. Fresh polling of 3,000 businesses reveals that those trading in 2021 were much more likely to report having a “low” rather than a “high” knowledge of how to export. This is first time this result has been recorded since 2018. Just under a third (30%) of respondents said they had a lack of export knowledge compared to under a quarter (23%) in 2019. Officials told the Times that this was “significant”. Two fifths (41%) of goods exporters responding to the survey reported a decline in sales in 2021 compared to just 28% in 2020. A third of services exporters also reported a fall, compared to 23% the year before. Director general of the Institute of Export & International Trade, Marco Forgione, said the findings provided “further evidence that more support needs to be given to the UK exporter community to equip it with the right expertise to trade internationally.”
Scotland economy: 40% of firms plan to reduce operations because of energy prices: Addleshaw Goddard and Fraser of Allander survey
Two-thirds of firms in Scotland now anticipate economic growth will be weak, 40% expect to reduce operations this year because of higher energy prices, and 86% of those with vacancies are struggling to fill them, a survey reveals. The quarterly Addleshaw Goddard Scottish business monitor, produced in partnership with the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute and published today, also shows the most common concerns among businesses continue to be the cost of energy, the price and availability of inputs, and the availability of staff. In the previous quarter, less than half of companies had projected weak Scottish economic growth and the proportion expecting to reduce operations because of higher energy prices was 33%. Of the firms reporting they currently had vacancies in the latest survey, 86% said they were finding them difficult or very difficult to fill. A lack of skills or experience was cited as the most common cause of this difficulty.
UK economy shrank record 11% in 2020, worst since 1709
Britain recorded its biggest fall in output in more than 300 years in 2020 when it faced the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a larger decline than any other major economy, updated official figures showed on Monday. Gross domestic product fell by 11.0% in 2020, the Office for National Statistics said. This was a bigger drop than any of the ONS’s previous estimates and the largest fall since 1709, according to historical data hosted by the Bank of England. The ONS’s initial estimates had already suggested that in 2020 Britain suffered its biggest fall in output since the “Great Frost” of 1709. But more recently the ONS had revised down the scale of the fall to 9.3%, the largest since just after World War One. Even before the latest revisions Britain’s economic slump was the largest in the Group of Seven, and the latest downward revision makes it greater than Spain’s, which recorded a 10.8% fall in output. However, the ONS cautioned against direct comparisons with other countries as most – with the exception of the United States – had not yet undertaken the same type of in-depth revisions as Britain had. The downward revision in GDP reflected lower contributions from healthcare and retailers than previously thought.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-economy-shrank-record-11-2020-worst-since-1709-2022-08-22/
Scale-up visa will propel high-growth businesses
The UK’s top high-growth businesses will have greater flexibility and power to entice the world’s top talent through the new Scale-up visa, the government announced. UK businesses experiencing impressive success will be eligible to sponsor talented individuals, from scientists and engineers to architects and programmers, to support their growth and contribute to boosting the UK’s economy. Unlike other sponsored visas, the Scale-up visa allows businesses to employ high-skilled individuals who will receive 2 years’ leave to remain in the UK without requiring further sponsorship or permission beyond the first 6 months. This will further enhance the government’s overall offer to businesses through the points-based immigration system to hire eligible employees from anywhere in the world. The Scale-up visa will give them greater flexibility to hire, often in-demand, talent they need so they can go to the next level, while boosting the UK’s high-skilled pool.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scale-up-visa-will-propel-high-growth-businesses