Business News Round Up (25/02/2022)
Regional office markets bounce back – JLL
The office markets across the UK’s largest regional cities recovered in 2021, according to JLL, with the drive to surpass pre-pandemic occupancy levels being supported by a healthy amount of investment. Documenting the growth of Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester in its annual UK Big Six report, JLL highlighted that average leasing volumes grew by almost one million sq ft in 2021 but remained 11 per cent below the ten-year average of 4.6 million sq ft. A strong second half to the year – as the nation began to adopt hybrid working – drove growth across the board with Leeds the only city to match its ten-year occupancy average of 624,000 sq ft by the end of 2021. Manchester market recorded the highest level of take up of the Big Six cities in 2021 and reached 1.1m sq ft. Meanwhile, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester remained 10 per cent below their respective ten-year averages, with Edinburgh and Glasgow tracking further behind as a result of tighter government working from home guidance in Scotland.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/national/regional-office-markets-bounce-back-jll
Energy firms dominate Insider’s Top500 Scottish companies
Scotland’s economy stands at a critical threshold as it transitions to a greener future. The changing face of Insider’s Top500 suggests that we are well on our way to net zero carbon emissions by 2045, but that we have been losing critical corporates with head offices in Scotland. The latter is of course not a new issue, but the domino effect is that it damages the professional supply chain of lawyers, accountants, IT professionals and support service companies that gravitate around large businesses and the rounds of deal-making. While Scotland remains a land of smaller and private family business, it is vital that the Top500 firms are innovative, sustainable market winners, allowing other firms to prosper in their wake. This ranking is a list of firms that have a registered presence in Scotland. While some are headquartered North of the Border, many are subsidiaries of larger organisations and corporates from the UK and the rest of the world. SSE, which was at the forefront of sponsorship at COP26 in Glasgow, is once again Scotland’s top ranked company and continuing to make the headlines, while ScottishPower, part of the Spanish Iberdrola Group, ranked second. Not long ago, the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland dominated the Top500 listings, alongside Clydesdale Bank, Standard Life and Scottish Widows.
https://www.insider.co.uk/special-reports/energy-firms-dominate-insiders-top500-26298171
UK consumer confidence plunges as surging living costs take toll
UK consumer confidence plunged in February and many measures of spending remained below pre-pandemic levels as surging living costs hit morale even before Russia invaded Ukraine. The consumer confidence index, a closely watched indicator of how people view the state of their personal finances and wider economic prospects compiled by research company GfK, fell seven points to minus 26 in February. It was the lowest score since January 2021 and one of the worst since the start of the pandemic. “Fear about the impact of price rises from food to fuel and utilities, increased taxation and interest rate hikes has created a perfect storm of worries that has shaken consumer confidence,” said Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK. Worryingly for the post-pandemic recovery, people’s view on their personal financial situation in the year ahead fell by 12 points to minus 14, the worst reading since April 2020 at the height of the first lockdown.
https://www.ft.com/content/8d4a29e6-4bef-4c52-92c4-ab588f6af51f
Scottish trade mission to US attracts ‘unprecedented interest’
Places have been snapped up on the first in-person trade mission from Scotland to the USA since the pandemic began as businesses look to new markets.More than 20 Scottish SMEs have signed up to join the Scottish Chambers of Commerce International Trade Partnership (ITP) missions to New York and Miami. Organisers Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce (FVCC) and Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have described the uptake as “unprecedented interest”. High-profile firms from sectors such as tech, sport and leisure, food and drink and the creative industries are joining the trade missions – including drinks firms Glaswegin, Ardgowan Distillery, and The Drinks Bakery – with leaders hailing the opportunity to forge new transatlantic links with potential partners in the USA. Other delegates making the trip include Scottish Edge-winning tech firm Lupovis, Harris Tweed, golf artisan accessory maker Mairead Hume, creative marketing and PR agency Story Shop, and award-winning global strategic brand agency MadeBrave.