Business News Round Up (27/06/2022)
“It’s never been more stark – small businesses need help” as retail sales falls
Retail sales volumes fell by 0.5% in May 2022, following a rise of 0.4% in April 2022. In the three months to May 2022, sales volumes fell by 1.3% when compared with the previous three months; this continues the downward trend since summer 2021. Commenting on these latest figures, Kevin Brown, savings specialist at Scottish Friendly, said: “Rising living costs are now affecting the daily spending habits of large swathes of people across the country, not just those who are on lower wages. Higher prices mean that millions of families are buying less food. As many as 44% of adults, surveyed by the ONS, say they have bought less when shopping in the last two weeks. Shopping in cheaper stores, cutting back on luxury items and strict budgeting are some of the ways to combat inflation, but if your outgoings are already equal to or higher than your income then your options are slim. Wages in the UK are falling by 2.3% in real terms so on average UK household earnings are failing to keep pace with inflation. This is of particular concern in the public sector where earnings are falling even further behind. This result is more and more people are being forced to delve into their savings to make ends meet, which could have a long-term, detrimental effect on their finances.”
BGF’s North West team leads on deals with an enterprise value of £450m
Growth capital investor, BGF, has led on deals with a total enterprise value (EV) of £450m in the North West in six months. In the same period, BGF’s North West team has delivered a stand-out run of exits which has seen £150m of capital returned from £72m invested. Highlights include the sale of Liverpool-based Sentric to Swiss music fintech company, Utopia Music, PTSG’s acquisition of NSS, and CurrentBody’s sale to eComplete. This is in addition to the outstanding exit of Kids Planet, having accelerated the nursery group’s roll-out from 17 to more than 80 sites during its investment period. BGF also retained minority stakes in Kids Planet and Utopia Music as it continues as a long term partner to both companies. BGF completed a total £42m of investment in growing businesses based in the North West in six months. These entrepreneur-led companies span several sectors including tech, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare, and training, and are based across all corners of the region. The North West team backed apprenticeship training provider Apprentify with a £5m investment to execute an ambitious buy and build strategy in the apprenticeship and adult education market.
Covid regulations confused small business in pandemic, study says
Regulations linked to the Covid outbreak made it harder for small businesses to come through the pandemic, a study led in the North East claims. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has worked with Newcastle University and the University of Birmingham on the study which urges the Government to learn lessons from the implementation of Covid-19 health measures and create a regulatory environment that will steer the economy away from recession. In the study, more than a third (35%) of small businesses surveyed said they found it difficult to understand regulations relating to Covid security, while one in five (22%) said the line between advisory guidance and regulatory requirements during the pandemic was “totally unclear”. The report’s authors have called on the Government and other regulators to clearly communicate the distinction between actions that a business must take, and the steps that a business might choose to take, when changing or introducing regulatory requirements. They have also called for longer grace periods when changes are introduced and better use of intermediary bodies to help communicate changes to regulation. FSB chair Martin McTague said: “With economies now thankfully unlocked, this is the moment to step back and assess what broad regulatory lessons can be learned from the pandemic.
Skills for Growth – SME support programme helps more than 1,600 Greater Manchester businesses in first 18 months
More than 1,600 Greater Manchester businesses and 2,500 people have been helped in the first 18 months of a programme looking to help businesses across the city-region to upskill and re-skill their employees. GC Business Growth Hub in partnership with Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce launched Skills for Growth – SME Support in October 2020 after receiving funding from Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) as part of its three-year Skills for Growth programme, funded through the European Social Fund. The fully funded business support programme is designed to help Greater Manchester SME’s achieve their growth ambitions through workforce development. Since its inception, Skills for Growth – SME Support has already supported 1,663 businesses and 2,578 individuals to undertake training and development across a range of disciplines including leadership and management, sales, and marketing, IT and ecommerce and social care. Firms accepted on the programme benefit from up to six months support, working alongside a dedicated Skills Coach, who provides an in-depth business diagnostic and workforce development plan tailored to achieve the business’ growth ambitions as well as being further supported to create personal employee development plans and help in finding suitable training courses.