Business News Round Up (30/01/2026)
RICS: demand for commercial property in Scotland edges up as surveyors appear cautiously optimistic for 2026
Demand for commercial property in Scotland edged up in the last quarter of 2025 according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) commercial property monitor, and, despite clear challenges remaining, surveyors appear cautiously optimistic for both rents and capital values this year. A net balance of 12% of Scottish respondents reported a rise in occupier demand for commercial property in Q4. Looking at the subsectors, a net balance of 9% of respondents reported a rise in demand for office space, whilst a net balance of 39% of Scottish respondents reported an uptick in demand for industrial space. However, a net balance of -12% of surveyors reported a fall in demand for retail space (though this is considerably better than the long-term average over the past 10 years).
North West business confidence back above UK levels, new data reveals
New data shows that business confidence in the North West increased by nine points during January, to 48%. The latest Business Barometer from Lloyds shows that confidence levels for the region are now back above the UK average. Companies in the North West reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 19 points at 70%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down one point at 26%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 48%, versus 39% in December 2025. A net balance of 45% of businesses in the region also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up five points on last month. Looking ahead to the next six months, North West businesses identified their top target areas for growth as evolving their offer, for example, introducing new products or services (54%), introducing new technology like AI (38%) and entering new markets (35%).
Begbies Traynor: Scottish business distress surges in Q4, as critical distress up by 49% in last 12 months
Scotland again experienced dramatic increases in business distress in the last three months of 2025, according to Begbies Traynor. The firm’s latest Red Flag Alert data, released every three months, shows the most serious ‘critical’ instances of distress rose by 49.5% year on year to 3,517 (from 2,353), ahead of the UK average increase of 43.8%. When compared with the previous quarter, totals in Scotland rose by 28.1%, again significantly higher than the UK average (21.3%) and the second largest of any UK region, only slightly less than the South West which saw rises of 40.9%. 20 out of 22 industry categories monitored by Red Flag Alert saw critical distress levels rise since the same period a year earlier. The highest annual increases were reported in businesses in print and packaging (+200%); health and education (+134.7%); sport and health clubs (+100%); financial services (+91.2%), and food and drug retailers (+88.8%).
Lanarkshire chosen for AI Growth Zone status by UK Government – with pledge to create over 3,400 jobs
Lanarkshire has been chosen for AI Growth Zone status by the UK Government with a pledge to create over 3,400 high-skilled jobs for local people. The region has been selected as an economic development zone for artificial intelligence with Airdrie-headquartered DataVita – working in partnership with US hyperscaler CoreWeave – named as the site to drive the plans forward. Kirsty McNeill, Scotland Office Minister, said the plans represent a new era for the region, which has a proud industrial heritage, and will now be at the forefront of ‘writing the next chapter’. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced the plans last night, which follow months of speculation for the possible whereabouts in Scotland of an AI Growth Zone. Confirmed AI Growth Zones already include Oxfordshire (Culham), the North East (Newcastle/Blyth), and North Wales (Anglesey/Trawsfynydd), alongside planned ones in South Wales.