Business News Round Up (30/01/2020)
Scottish export increased by 2.9% in 2018
Figures released by the Scottish Government reveal the value of Scottish exports grew to £85 billion between 2017 and 2018, an increase of 2.9%. The 2018 export statistics show total international exports rose by £1.1 billion, an increase of 3.4%. Scotland’s exports to the European Union increased by £695 million between 2017 and 2018 – a rise of 4.5%. The increase was driven by strong demand for Scottish food and drink produce where exports increased 7.1%.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-51294845
North West confidence on the rise – Lloyds
Business confidence in the North West rose 20 points on the back of soaring economic optimism during January, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Companies in the North West reported higher confidence in their own business prospects (21%) and higher economic optimism (31%). When taken alongside their views of the overall economy, this gives a total confidence of 26%.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/north-west-confidence-on-the-rise-lloyds
Innovation Centre launches new business advisory service to accelerate data innovation
A new business advisory service to accelerate data driven innovation and collaboration between businesses has been launched by the Data Lab, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for data science and artificial intelligence (AI). TORCH aims to work with data specialist suppliers to support organisations to overcome key challenges when establishing new data projects. The new service is to be funded by Scottish Enterprise and the University of Edinburgh.
Total value of North West’s listed companies grows by £6.4 billion
The North West’s listed companies continued to increase their value in the final quarter of 2019, adding £6.4 billion to their total market capitalisation, according to new figures by Deloitte. The Share Index for the North West shows the total value of businesses in the region increased in overall value from £50.8 billion in Quarter 3 to a current total value of £57.2 billion. This represent the second largest increase in value since 2015.