Business News Round Up (28/04/2022)
Scottish company insolvencies up by 164% at the end of 2021
The number of corporate insolvency cases in liquidation and receiverships in Scotland for the last quarter of 2021 was 164% higher compared to the same period the previous year. Research undertaken by insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 in Scotland found that there were 240 cases during the last three months of the year, up from 91 year-on-year. The overall number of personal insolvencies, bankruptcies, and protected trust deeds in Scotland during the fourth quarter was 13% higher than the previous comparable period, although personal insolvencies in Scotland fell by 8.3% quarter-on-quarter. Richard Bathgate, chair of R3 in Scotland and restructuring partner at Johnston Carmichael, explained that there has been a sharp rise in corporate insolvencies, with 854 corporate insolvencies in the financial year 2021-22 compared to 442 during 2020-21. This has been driven by a 160% increase in the number of creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs). Bathgate explained: “This suggests directors are preferring to use the CVL procedure over the compulsory liquidation procedure, perhaps because of lower costs to enter the process. In the latest quarter, this trend of a sharp rise in the number of CVLs is even more pronounced, with an increase of 257% in the number of CVLs compared to quarter four of 2020-21.” The report found that members’ voluntary liquidations (MVLs), which are solvent liquidations often used to make tax efficient returns of capital to shareholders, declined by 18% in the financial year 2021-22, compared to 2020-21.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-company-insolvencies-up-164-26813976
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.
UK firms could save £1.3bn using instant payments – report
In a new report, Prime Time for Real Time, published by ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) predicts that by 2026, £1.3bn could be made in cost savings for British businesses and consumers through real-time payments – helping to generate an additional £2.6bn in economic output, equivalent to 0.11% of formal GDP.In 2021, real-time payments resulted in £730mn in cost savings for firms and consumers in the UK – helping unlock £2.2bn in additional economic output, equivalent to 0.1% of formal GDP. The findings come as the IMF has forecast the UK will have the slowest growth out of the G7 nations in 2023, amid reports half of small British companies say rising costs will hit their growth. Real-time payments are a big lever governments can pull to improve liquidity in financial systems, enable quicker payment of workers and suppliers, and drive economic growth. Globally, in 2021, real-time payments helped to generate additional GDP amounting to £59.9bn across 30 key economies – forecast to climb to £133bn by 2026.
https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/92439/uk-firms-could-save-13bn-using-instant-payments—report
Vacancies in Scotland continue to rise, but applications tumble
Vacancy numbers in Scotland remain resilient, but applications are on a continuous decline. That’s according to recent research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The data, provided by the world’s largest network of job boards, Broadbean Technology, revealed that the IT sector accounted for the lion’s share of new jobs, followed by building & construction and engineering. Medical and nursing also featured in the top ten. There were more than 12,000 IT jobs listed alone across Scotland, which is perhaps unsurprising considering the acceleration and increased adoption of technology, both during and after the pandemic. While Scotland’s vacancy numbers increased, the data collected on applications per vacancy (APV) tells a different story. Last year saw the number of individuals applying for roles down 40% on pre-pandemic figures with building & construction and medical & nursing reporting low levels of candidates (averaging just nine and seven applications per vacancy retrospectively). With both featuring in the top ten for the number of new vacancies, the data shows a significant dearth of in-demand talent in Scotland.