Business News Round Up (27/10/2020)
Digital investment by SMEs can provide £145 billion boost to UK economy
Research published by Sage has found that the UK economy could receive a boost worth £145 billion due to digital investment by SMEs. As local lockdowns across the country trigger uncertainty within SMEs, unlocking the potential of digital investment will help to maintain resilience, according to the study from Sage and Capital Economics. In addition to providing substantial benefit to the UK economy, investment in tech could provide £325 billion in additional revenue and support up to 2.7 million jobs, as customer and employee engagement is bolstered by digitisation.
Deserted city centres slowing Britain’s job recovery, research finds
Deserted high streets and city centres are hurting Britain’s jobs recovery, with urban areas including central London suffering the steepest declines in vacancies. The latest research showed that seven months on from the introduction of the nationwide lockdown, work opportunities have failed to return to pre-pandemic levels across major UK towns and cities. Aberdeen recorded the steepest fall with a 75% year-on-year decline, followed by Edinburgh (57%), then Belfast and the West Sussex town of Crawley (both 55%). London has seen the sixth biggest fall in job postings at 52%, while overall UK vacancies are 46% behind last year’s level, said the report.
https://www.cityam.com/deserted-city-centres-slowing-britains-job-recovery-research-finds/
Three in ten UK business leaders fear collapse within the year
Three in ten business leaders in the UK fear their organisation will close within the next year, new research from KnowYourMoney.co.uk has revealed. The comparison platform commissioned a survey of 534 decision-makers within UK organisations. It found that 30% do not expect their business to survive the next 12 months. Almost half (46%) of decision-makers said their company plans to reduce the amount it is spending on office space next year. This figure rises to 61% among large businesses (over 250 employees). Over two fifths (45%) of British businesses are likely to make redundancies in the year ahead, despite the Government’s new Job Support Scheme. KnowYourMoney.co.uk’s research also showed that 38% of UK companies have taken on debt in 2020 without a clear plan of how and when it will be repaid.
http://hrnews.co.uk/three-in-ten-uk-business-leaders-fear-collapse-within-the-year/
Scottish city hotels hit hard by the pandemic with Edinburgh faring worst
Hotels in Scotland’s three largest cities have been hit hard by the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. The PwC UK Hotels Forecast 2020-2021 shows sharp declines in all metrics on hotels across Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen this year. However, the three cities should begin to recover in 2021 due to increased demand for ‘staycations’ across the UK, outside of London, with Scotland’s largest cities hugely popular with local tourists. The prediction forms part of PwC’s analysis into market conditions for hotels over the next 12 months. Other cities are expected to fare better than London in 2021, whether a Covid-19 vaccine is developed or not. In addition to a stronger staycation market, unpredictable overseas travel, ongoing restrictions, and local lockdowns will further fuel demand for domestic leisure tourism. As a result of the pandemic’s impact, the cost of an overnight stay in Scotland’s Capital has fallen to an average of £70.36 – representing a reduction of around one-third for guests.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-city-hotels-hit-hard-22908728