Business News Round Up (29/08/2024)
Scotland’s GDP growth lags UK, but Q2 growth remains positive
Scotland’s onshore GDP saw a slight decline of 0.3% in June, following a 0.2% growth in May. The overall picture for Q2 remains positive, with 0.6% growth, compared to Q1’s 0.5%. The largest contribution to headline GDP in was electricity & gas supply, which contributed 0.3 percentage-points to headline GDP. The largest contribution to the contraction was manufacturing at -0.2 percentage-points. Kevin Brown, savings specialist at Scottish Friendly, commented: “It is concerning that the Scottish economy is lagging the UK in these latest figures. However, any such faltering could be short-lived as rate setters begin to look at lowering the base rate to ease conditions for the economy. Despite this lag, with interest rates finally heading in the other direction, and inflation back at normal levels, it could be that Scottish households begin to start feeling better off for the first time since the cost-of-living crisis really took hold.”
Skills shortage is impacting Scotland’s CEO talent pipeline
Fewer than half of Scotland’s CEOs believe the talent to succeed them exists within their current organisation, according to new research. The findings emerged from a survey of more than 120 CEOs and senior leaders in Scotland as part of a research partnership between Glasgow-based executive search specialist Livingston James Group, and EY UK, aimed at identifying the skills required to be a CEO of the future. The same questions were also posed to other senior leaders and potential CEOs heading up departments including finance, operations, technology, human resources, and non-executive directors and chairs across the public and private sectors. Just 47% of CEOs said they could see anybody in their current leadership team as potential future CEOs of theirs, or another organisation, while more than half (56%) of the functional leaders responding to the survey believed they have the potential to take the top job in future.
https://www.digit.fyi/skills-shortage-is-impacting-scotlands-ceo-talent-pipeline/
MBO at Full Circle and Psycho Peacock
Greater Manchester-based Full Circle Events & Exhibitions and Psycho Peacock have been acquired by management. Founded by Steve Barratt and Helenya Jones in 2013, Full Circle is an event exhibition services business with in-house graphics provided through sister company Psycho Peacock. The group established a significant position in the UK events industry over the past five years and while the industry came to a standstill during the pandemic, investment through that period has led to a strong recovery. The buyout team consists of 12 experienced employees, including Steve Comar (CEO) and Sarah Green (CFO) together with other senior members of the management team have all invested into the business. The investment will be the fifth investment from Panoramic’s SME Fund 3 which launched in 2023. Panoramic’s investment into Full Circle and Psycho Peacock was led by Partner David Wilson, supported by Jake Wilson and Sam Straughan.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/mbo-at-full-circle-and-psycho-peacock
‘Employers hold the key’ to unlocking worker health improvements
High rates of inactivity and increased absence from the workplace can be tackled by greater collaboration and investment by employers and governments. That’s according to a new report by Prosper which explores the economic cost of ill-health to both business and the public purse. Around one in four people working-aged people in Scotland are inactive, a figure that has been rising, largely due to an increase in long-term sickness. Absence from work due to poor health, in particular mental health, is also a challenge with an estimated cost to employers of £51bn a year. The report sets out actions for employers around flexible working, investing in manager training to better support employees, and inclusive recruitment practices. For governments at Holyrood and Westminster, which are making reducing economic inactivity an urgent priority, there are also opportunities for action on investment to improve access to mental health support.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/employers-hold-key-unlocking-worker-33554344