Business News Round Up (29/10/2021)
Scottish insolvency figures rise during the third quarter
The number of corporate insolvencies in Scotland rose 80.3% between July to September this year, compared to the same period last year. Insolvency and restructuring body R3 found the number of liquidations and receiverships in Scotland increased by 29.4% to 211 during July to September, compared with April to June. Meanwhile, creditors’ voluntary liquidations rose to 179 for July to September – an increase of 35.6% on the 132 recorded for April to June – and by 159.4% on June to September 2020’s figure of 69. The number of personal insolvencies – bankruptcies and protected trust deeds – in Scotland rose by 1.8% to 1,918 in July to September, compared with the 1,885 in April to June, while being 8.4% higher than in July to September 2020, at 1,770.Tim Cooper, chair of R3 in Scotland and a partner at Addleshaw Goddard, explained that the quarterly and annual increase in corporate insolvencies has been driven by an increase in Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations, which suggests that company directors are choosing to close their businesses, having deemed future success unlikely after trading for more than a year and half during a pandemic.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-insolvency-figures-rise-during-25320574
Fall in NW firms facing financial distress, though insolvencies rise
The proportion of North West businesses in financial distress has fallen by 13% during the third quarter of 2021, according to the latest research by insolvency experts, Manchester-based Begbies Traynor. However, it also confirms that more than 50,000 firms in the region still face significant financial challenges. The research reveals that 54,350 businesses located in the region are now operating under significant financial distress, according to the latest Begbies Traynor Red Flag Alert data for the third quarter of 2021. The gradual re-opening of the economy and steady increase in consumer confidence is reflected in the latest figures with a 13% reduction in the number of firms in distress compared with the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2021 there were 62,784 firms from across the region in significant financial distress compared with 54,350 in the third quarter. Double-digit reductions in distress were seen in Financial Services (18% reduction), Professional Services (15% reduction) and Media (15%) reflecting the strength of these key sectors of the North West economy. Some sectors of the regional economy still retain high volumes of distress in the region by sheer volume. These are Support Services (9,068), Construction (7,199) and Real Estate & Property (6,836). Nationally, there are now more than half a million firms (562,550) that are currently in significant financial distress.
Scotland only part of GB to see rise in empty shops
Scotland was the only part of Great Britain where more shops were empty in the last quarter compared with the previous three months. New data shows that one in six retail premises is now vacant – a six-year high – or 16.4% from 16.1% in Q2. Across the rest of Britain the vacancy rate has flattened with the overall GB vacancy rate remaining at 14.5%, the same level as Q2. The overall figures are held up by retailers moving out of the high street to retail parks where they can better support online customers. The worsening Scottish figures have prompted new calls from the Scottish Retail Consortium for the Holyrood government to take decisive action. David Lonsdale, director of the SRC, said: “Scotland’s shop vacancy rate has risen by a fifth this past year and remains above the UK average rate, and it’s far from certain that it has crested. This is a vivid reminder of the heavy economic toll of the pandemic and of repeated lockdowns and restrictions.”
‘Record returns’ at Scottish Enterprise
Economic development agency Scottish Enterprise has hailed record returns with equity and debt investments exceeding £50 million during the last financial year.It said seven trade exits contributed to income totalling £56m in 2020/21, along with a partial realisation of its shares in telecoms equipment company Calnex Solutions following its IPO in October 2020. The value of the agency’s investment portfolio increased from £309m the year before to £423m during the last year, which it said, “reflected the contribution its investee companies can make to post-pandemic economic recovery”. The portfolio comprises over 340 companies in several sectors across Scotland, including Dundee-headquartered e-commerce company Snappy Shopper, Edinburgh-based agritech business Intelligent Growth Solutions, and Stonehaven-located electric vehicle charging system developer Trojan Energy. Kerry Sharp, director of growth investments at Scottish Enterprise, said last year was its “strongest year on record in terms of income generated”. She said this demonstrated “the significant financial returns that can result from adopting a patient approach to investing risk capital in innovative, early-stage, high-growth companies in Scotland”.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/19680128.record-returns-scottish-enterprise/