Business News Round Up (27/04/2021)
Economy is set to bounce back to pre-covid-19 levels
EY has significantly upgraded the UK’s economic growth prospects for 2021 with the expectations of a solid recovery from Q2.As Covid-19 restrictions are eased and the vaccine rollout continues, the EY ITEM Club’s spring forecast has upgraded the UK economy’s prospects projecting 6.8% growth this year, compared to the initial 5% growth predicted in January.As a result of the ‘resilient Q1 performance’ the improved near-term outlook means the UK economy is expected to regain its pre-Covid-19 peak, returning to its Q4 2019 level in Q2 of 2022, six months earlier than previously forecast.The EY says that the UK economy will be less ‘scarred’ than some of the more pessimistic scenarios outlined, expecting unemployment to peak at 5.8% in 2021 instead of the 8-9% estimates that formed the consensus 12 months ago, meaning the economy will bounce back quicker.
https://www.accountancydaily.co/economy-set-bounce-back-pre-covid-19-levels
Investment in fast-growth Scottish businesses slows down in 2021
Venture Capital (VC) investment in Scotland’s scale-up – or fast-growth – businesses slowed down in the first quarter of 2021, according to the latest figures from KPMG. The latest KPMG Venture Pulse Survey reveals there were 21 VC deals in Scotland between January and March this year, down from 23 deals in the Q4 2020. Meanwhile the combined value was also down from at least £97.6 million to at least £64.3 million. The data will come as a blow to the entrepreneurial scale-up sector, which bucked the wider economic downward trend last year, with record levels of investment and deals in Scotland. But, with restrictions easing and the Scottish economy gradually re-opening, it’s hoped a return to high confidence levels from investors should see a return to the upward trend in the country’s increasingly important start-up and scale-up space.
Just 3% of mid-market businesses plan full return to the office in North West
Just 3% of mid-market businesses in the North West are planning for a return to full-time office working post-pandemic, according to new research from Grant Thornton UK LLP. A hybrid split between home and office was cited as the most likely model by most (92%). However, just one in four mid-sized firms (24%) expect their workforce to be spending the majority of their time in the office, with 48% planning for employees to work from home most of the time. The leading business adviser’s data also shows that employee preference and the battle for talent is likely playing a factor in that decision; with 64% of the region’s workforce in mid-sized companies expecting to maintain flexible working options established over the last 12 months. More than a third (36%) of medium-sized businesses are actively planning to offer more flexible working arrangements.
Edinburgh employment growth set to be among UKs best in 2021
A new report predicts that Edinburgh will be among the top five performing cities in the UK for employment by the end of this year, with Aberdeen bouncing back best in output. The latest UK Powerhouse research by law firm Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), reveals a contrasting picture in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) growth prospects, as Scotland emerges from lockdown restrictions. At the end of last year, Edinburgh was in the top five cites in the UK for economic output, while Aberdeen was bottom of the league table with a 7.7% annual fall in GVA. In terms of year-on-year employment growth, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow were among the bottom 20 cities at the end of 2020, as Covid-19 restrictions continued to bite. By the end of this year, all three Scottish ‘powerhouse’ cities are expected to see a significant recovery in output, with Aberdeen rising from bottom of the table in the fourth quarter of 2020, to thirteenth by the end of the fourth quarter this year, with a 6.8% year-on-year increase in GVA. Glasgow is predicted to be just outside the top 20 with a 6.4% rise in GVA, while Edinburgh is expected to have fallen from the top five, to the bottom 20, with a 6.2% growth in economic output.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/edinburgh-employment-growth-set-among-23983336