Business News Round Up (28/01/2022)
Three-quarters of British business leaders’ confidence has surged after navigating Covid-19 pandemic, says new report
THREE-quarters (75%) of UK business leaders say that the way their business was able to adapt during the pandemic has boosted their confidence. This is according to a major new report from Capitalise, the small business platform that gives small businesses and their adviser transparency and control over their business finance all in one place. The report, titled Get Fit for Business, commissioned independent research company Censuswide to poll 500 UK-based small business decision-makers in December 2021. The report the data is contained in, tracks how business leaders are coping mentally and physically, and also how their professional and personal relationships and financial numbers are shaping up. Of the business leaders surveyed, 75% admitted that the last two years were incredibly stressful – but that they had hidden that stress from their team. Leaders clearly recognised the need to de-stress, however, with almost 73% trying a stress-relieving activity such as yoga or meditation for the first time. Furthermore, when asked about their health and wellbeing, 83% agreed that they do their best work when they’ve had enough sleep and are eating and exercising well. But 71% said that working from home has left them feeling less physically fit.
UK business closures jump 14% as pandemic takes brutal toll on small firms
Business closures in the UK jumped by 14% from a year ago in the fourth quarter as the coronavirus pandemic took a brutal toll. Almost every industrial group saw the number of closures rise, with the transport and storage sector posting the largest increase, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. Only finance and insurance bucked the trend. Meanwhile, business creations were 4% lower than in the final three months of 2020. Construction saw the largest increase in creations, while retail registered the largest decline. The figures reflect the pressure on small companies, in particular, during more than a year of on-off lockdowns and restrictions to contain the coronavirus. By December, almost one-in-seven companies reportedly had no cash reserves remaining. The data show the number of business removed from or added to a government register of operating enterprises. A firm is removed from the Inter-Departmental Business Register if its turnover and employment are zero for several periods, or if the ONS is made aware that the business has ceased trading.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2022/01/27/651108.htm
NW firms warned to brace for insolvency storm
North West business owners are being warned to brace themselves for a wave of insolvencies this year as state aid and extra protection measures from creditors are phased out. Figures released today (January 28) by Manchester-based insolvency experts Begbies Traynor in its quarterly Red Flag Alert data, confirm that 55,728 firms in the North West region were operating under significant financial distress in the fourth quarter of 2021 – a three per cent rise on the previous three months (54,350). Nationally, more than half a million firms are now in significant financial distress (589,168) – a five per cent rise on the previous quarter. Begbies Traynor also confirmed a 106% rise in the number of County Court Judgements (CCJs) issued in the final quarter of 2021, an early indication of insolvency, as creditors use the courts to recover debts as measures to provide breathing space for companies is withdrawn.
Festive pop-ups aid marginal improvement in Scottish shop vacancies
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the Scottish vacancy rate decreased marginally to 16.1%, from 16.4% the previous quarter – 1.7% higher than in the same point in 2020. The latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Local Data Company figures showed that shopping centre vacancies decreased to 20.4%, from 21.4%. in the third quarter last year. On the high street, vacancies remained at 15% for the second consecutive quarter, while retail park vacancies decreased to 12.6% in the fourth quarter, down from 13.4% during the previous three months – remaining the location with the lowest rate. SRC director David Lonsdale said the improvement was aided by pop-ups and temporary lets deployed in the run up to the all-important festive trading period. “That said, these figures offer few crumbs of comfort – too many stores aren’t in use and the vacancy rate has remained above 16% for a third successive quarter. The fallout from the pandemic continues to exert a heavy toll on retail destinations, and a sustained shift towards hybrid working could make it trickier for store vacancy rates to ever fully recover.”
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/festive-pop-ups-aid-marginal-26066176