Tag: business

New business tax year begins

Businesses across the UK can take advantage of the Chancellor’s capital allowances package from today as the new business tax year begins.

  • The new business tax year comes in today 1 April 2023, with a new regime to boost investment and spur UK growth
  • £27 billion cut to corporation tax, via Chancellor’s new full expensing policy, expected to boost investment by 3% in each of the next three years
  • Other tax changes coming into force include more business rates relief, extension to the fuel duty cut and a £450 income tax cut for carers.

The package, announced at Spring Budget, comprises 100% full expensing and a 50% first-year allowance. It will mean the UK has the most generous capital allowance regime in the OECD worth £27 billion over the next three years, amounting to an effective £9 billion a year tax cut for companies.

The OBR expects this regime to boost investment by 3% over three years.

To mark the milestone, Financial Secretary to the Treasury visited Brompton Bikes in Greenford, London, who’ll be using full expensing to stimulate their growth.

Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “We are determined to make the UK the best place in the world to do business, which is why from today businesses can start to benefit from the raft of tax cuts on offer to boost their growth.

“With full expensing, the more a company invests the less tax they’ll pay, and I encourage companies of any size to take full advantage of this world-leading reform.”

With the new 25% corporation tax rate coming in for the top 10% most profitable companies from today, and the super-deduction ending yesterday, the Chancellor used his Spring Budget to ensure that the UK’s tax system fosters the right conditions for enterprise, investment and growth.

Full expensing lets companies deduct 100% of the cost of certain plant and machinery investments from their profits before tax. It is available from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026. It provides the same generosity as the super-deduction, saving firms up to 25p in every £1 of qualifying investment and is for main rate assets – such as construction, warehousing and office equipment.

The 50% First-Year Allowance lets companies deduct 50% of the cost of other plant and machinery, known as special rate assets, from their profits during the year of purchase. This includes long life assets such as solar panels and lighting systems.

Minister Victoria Atkins visited Brompton Bikes in Greenford this week to see how these capital allowances will be used to help the firm invest and grow. The minister toured their factory, viewing a brand new state-of-the-art Autobraze machine and the production line. She also met a selection of 15 trainees currently on Brompton’s training programme.

Phill Elston, Operations Director at Brompton Bicycle, said: “The announcement of a super deduction replacement is great news for us. In previous years it has meant we could invest significantly in our production capabilities, upgrading equipment and building a more progressive factory; which has seen us move from making circa. 45,000 bikes per year in 2019, to around 100,000 bikes per year in 2022.

“Our mission is to improve how people travel around cities, which in turn creates happier communities, and the new expensing scheme helps to accelerate that goal.”

Other tax measures taking effect today include new domestic and ultra-long Air Passenger Duty bands.

For passengers flying in economy class, the new domestic band will be set at £6.50, a 50% cut to bolster UK-wide connectivity, while the new ultra long-haul band will be set at £91, meaning those who fly the furthest will pay the greatest level of duty.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Transport binds the United Kingdom together, and this cut to Air Passenger Duty will make travelling between our family of nations easier than ever.

“Boosting transport links between our four nations sustains jobs, creates opportunities and is an essential part of this Government’s plan to grow the economy.”

Further tax measures include:

  • To help household budgets further, the planned 11 pence rise in fuel duty has been cancelled, maintaining last year’s 5p cut for another twelve months, saving a typical driver another £100 on top of the £100 saved so far since last year’s cut.
  • More business rates relief, as part of the Chancellor’s £13.6 billion package from 2022’s Autumn Statement. This includes the freezing of the multiplier and the introduction of 75% relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, helping the high street to thrive and compete with online firms.
  • Extending creative sector reliefs: theatres, orchestra and museums and galleries will benefit from a further 2 years of tax relief rates of 45%/50%. The museums and galleries exhibitions tax relief sunset clause will be extended for a further 2 years to allow these organisations to fully benefit from the extension of the highest rates.
  • The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), an existing measure which also supports business investment, has been increased permanently to £1m today. This covers the investment needs of 99% of UK businesses.
  • Rebalancing the rates of Research and Development Expenditure Credit and the R&D SME scheme to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent as effectively as possible. As a result, today the UK now offers the joint-highest uncapped headline rate of R&D tax relief support in the G7 for large companies.
  • The government also committed to considering the case for further support for R&D intensive SMEs, and at Spring Budget announced that from today there will be an increased permanent rate of relief for the most R&D intensive loss-making SMEs. To support modern methods of innovation, for accounting periods beginning on or after today, businesses will also be able to claim for the costs of datasets and cloud computing under the R&D tax reliefs.
  • Expanding the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) to help more UK start-ups raise higher levels of finance. This package will help over 2,000 start-up companies access finance.
  • Expanding the availability and generosity of the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) scheme which will widen access to CSOP for growth companies and simplifying the process to grant options under the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme.

On 6 April 2023 personal tax changes taking effect include removing tax-barriers that the medical community have made clear stop doctors working, delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority to cut NHS waiting lists so people can get the care they need more quickly.

The pensions annual tax-free allowance will increase by 50% from £40,000 to £60,000, the Money Purchase Annual Allowance will rise from £4,000 to £10,000, and the Lifetime Allowance charge will be removed.

The Office for Budget Responsibility estimate around 15,000 individuals will remain in the labour market because of the changes to the annual and lifetime allowances, many of whom will be highly skilled individuals, including senior doctors in the NHS.

Qualifying Carers Relief will be uprated with inflation from 6 April 2023 to representing a £450 per year income tax cut for carers. The uprating increases the amount of income tax relief from £10,000 to £18,140 plus £375-450 per week for each person cared for.

The cheque’s in the post: Over 1.2 million overdue invoices in Scotland this winter, new R3 research shows

Scottish firms had over 1.2 million overdue invoices on their books this winter, new research from insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 has revealed.

R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows 1,231,703 invoices were overdue in Scotland over the winter months – with 416,856 in December 2022, 400,272 in January 2023 and 414,575 in February 2023.

Scotland saw the biggest month-on-month increase in late payments between January 2023 and February 2023 in the UK, with numbers rising by 3.6%, followed by the North West (2.7% rise), the North East (2.5%) and Yorkshire and Humberside (2.5%).

And more than 94,000 Scottish businesses (94,144) reported that they had overdue invoices on their books this winter – a figure which peaked last month at 32,074 firms, which was 3.7% higher than the January 2023 total of 30,939.

Richard Bathgate, Chair of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 in Scotland, says: “Times are still tough for Scottish businesses as they battle rising costs and contend with cautious consumers.

“Both of these will have an effect on their cashflow levels and their ability to pay invoices on time, which might explain why Scottish firms had so many overdue invoices on their books this winter.

“Paying invoices late can be a sign of wider issues within the business, or that it’s financially distressed, and can have a negative knock-on effect on supply chains if the payment issues from one customer are passed on by the supplier to those they owe money to.”

Richard, who is Restructuring Partner at Johnston Carmichael in Aberdeen continues: “As a company director, keeping your business financially healthy should be a top priority, and you should be alert to any signs that issues may be arising. 

“If your business is having problems paying invoices, staff or suppliers, or you’re worried about its finances, that’s the time to seek expert advice from a restructuring professional or licensed insolvency practitioner.

“If anyone knows how best to avoid an insolvency, it’s an insolvency practitioner.  Seek early help and you will have more time and options open to you to take a considered decision about your next steps.”

Renewed growth in Scottish private sector activity

  • Headline Business Activity Index at 51.0 in February, up from 47.1
  • Recovery in growth of new orders as firms cite greater demand
  • Price pressures continue to cool

The Scottish private sector registered the first rise in private sector activity for seven months in February according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI® data.

The Business Activity Index – a measure of combined manufacturing and service sector output – moved back within in the expansion territory, printing 51.0, up from 47.1 in January, as growth resumed across both the manufacturing and service sectors, with the former leading the expansion.

Panel members reported an improvement in demand conditions and growth in new clients helped boost activity. New orders also rose, following seven consecutive months of decline.

The upturn in new orders helped with the first rise in workforce numbers in three months. Furthermore, despite remaining stubbornly high, cost pressures continued to diminish. All in all, the positive performance of the Scottish private sector fed into higher levels of confidence.

Inflows of new business rose across Scotland in February, ending a seven-month period of decline. Upturns were similar across the two sub-sectors. Panel members noted growth in sales and new projects and clients helped revive growth.

New orders also rose at the UK level. However, the pace of increase was stronger than that observed for Scotland.

Sentiment was firmly positive and improved further from December’s recent low across Scotland in February. Expectations were largely pinned on new product launches, increased marketing and projected growth in customers and sales.

That said, optimism across Scotland remained muted when compared to the UK as a whole.

Employment rose across Scotland, following back-to-back months of decline. The respective seasonally adjusted index ticked up to a five-month high, signalling a rate of job creation that was firmer than the long-run average. According to anecdotal evidence, employment increased to meet order intakes and replace leavers.

The pace of job creation across Scotland was faster than the UK-wide average, which also recorded a rise in employment for the first time in three months.

Private sector companies across Scotland continued to reduce their backlogs during February, stretching the current sequence of reduction to nine months. Improved efficiency and previous months of fewer orders allowed firms to complete unfinished orders. That said, the pace of depletion was the weakest in the aforementioned sequence, reflecting only a fractional decline at service providers.

In contrast, backlogs of work rose across the UK as a whole for the first time in four months.

A rapid rise in input costs was registered across Scotland in February. Respondents blamed the latest increase in private sector expenses on energy prices, higher costs from suppliers and inflation generally. While historically elevated, the rate of input price inflation was the softest in 21 months and weaker than the UK-wide average.

Scotland registered one of the slowest increases in input prices among the 12 UK regions, ahead of the North West and East of England.

Charges levied for the provision of Scottish goods and services rose sharply in February. Inflation, Brexit and higher costs from suppliers continued to push charges up, according to anecdotal evidence. However, the pace of increase slowed notably to the weakest since April 2021.

Of the 12 monitored regions, Scotland reported the weakest incline in output charges.

Continued…

Source: Royal Bank of Scotland, S&P Global.

Judith Cruickshank, Chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, commented: “Private sector output registered growth mid-way through the first quarter of 2023.

“The headline index signalled a mild expansion in output and marked the first month of increase since July 2022. Firms reported that a revival in customer demand and growth in new clients helped boost sales and activity.

“Growth in business requirements resulted in higher intakes of staff across both goods producers and service providers, while backlogs fell for the ninth month running.

“Furthermore, with inflationary pressures continuing to cool off, the Scottish private sector reported a modest performance overall, a change from the contractions seen since last August. Additionally, with confidence strengthening to an 11-month high, we hope that the upturn across Scotland will continue in the coming months.”

Supporting Scotland’s women entrepreneurs

Report identifies 31 ways to reduce gender gap and boost economy

The Scottish Government will carefully consider proposals to support more women into entrepreneurship, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said following publication of a wide-ranging independent review.

Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship was commissioned by the Scottish Government to identify ways to unlock untapped potential, close the gender gap and boost Scotland’s economy.

The review – led by Ana Stewart, an entrepreneur and investor, and co-authored with Mark Logan, chief entrepreneur to the Scottish Government – makes 31 recommendations. The steps include:

  • providing start-up training and support in a range of pop-up locations to help more women, and other primary care givers, access services
  • integrating entrepreneurial education into schools and further education
  • clarifying existing access pathways into entrepreneurship
  • improving access to start-up and growth finance
  • tracking and measuring progress towards full representation in entrepreneurship

Commenting on the report,  First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I welcome Ana Stewart and Mark Logan’s work in delivering a powerful review of the barriers facing women in entrepreneurship in Scotland and presenting a compelling set of recommendations aimed at removing them.

“The review’s findings are challenging but underline the need to tackle the root-causes, as well as the immediate barriers, of this inequality.

“Fully realising the entrepreneurial potential of women in Scotland will not only promote greater equality in our society, it will also deliver significant benefits for the economy. 

“The Scottish Government will respond quickly to the review as a whole, and its recommendations.”

Review chair Ana Stewart said: “This review has, through a combination of extensive stakeholder engagement and robust data analysis, revealed that women face many significant barriers to entrepreneurship.

“Only one in five businesses in Scotland are female-led, while start-ups founded by women received only 2% of overall investment capital in the last five years. By taking a root cause and effect approach, our recommendations focus on dramatically increasing female participation rates to drive a vibrant and fairer entrepreneurial economy.”

The First Minister welcomed the publication of the review on a visit to Roslin Innovation Centre, where she met Ishani Malhotra, Chief Executive of Carcinotech, and Dr Kate Cameron, who founded Cytochroma.

Read the review report, Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship.

pathways-new-approach-women-entrepreneurshipDownload

Business Gateway partners with the UK’s first ‘Dr of Social Media’ to uncover the power of social listening for businesses

Business Gateway has announced a free online DigitalBoost event with Dr Jillian Ney, the UK’s first ‘Dr of Social Media’, which will equip Scottish businesses with the knowledge to harness their internet data.

Taking place on Monday, 27th February at 1pm, the hour-long webinar ‘Social Media Listening with Dr Jillian Ney’ will explore social listening – defining what it is, how it can benefit business owners, and offer tips on how to achieve impact in cost-effective ways.

Award-winning digital anthropologist Dr Jillian Ney is the founder of Glasgow-based The Social Intelligence Lab, a global community for professionals working with social and internet data.

She has worked in the industry for over a decade as a researcher, consultant, spokesperson, and author. She has been voted as one of the most influential women under 30 in digital marketing, has given two TED Talks: “Connectedness and the Digital Self” and “Social Media: The Value Lies in the Data”, and has presented her work at SXSW, Social Media Week, NATO, and 10 Downing Street.

Dr Ney began her PhD in social media and consumer behaviour in 2007 at the University of Strathclyde.

She discovered that by analysing how people present themselves and interact online, you can gather valuable insights about their behaviour in the real world. Since then, she has been creating methodologies to help businesses understand what is driving customer behaviour by applying behavioural science to social data and other online data sources.

‘Social Media Listening with Dr Jillian Ney’ will be hosted as a Q&A with Business Gateway’s Chief Officer, Hugh Lightbody. Dr Ney will offer expert guidance on how businesses can use online data to identify insights on their target audience and stay competitive, as well as explore the changing impact of the internet on the business landscape.

Dr Jillian Ney said: “Social listening is a powerful tool that can help businesses of all sizes gain a deeper understanding of their audience and stay ahead of their competition, but it is easy to get swept up in the hype of what the technology and data can offer.

“During the webinar, I will demystify this hype to help businesses concentrate on what’s important. I’m delighted to partner with Business Gateway on this session, hopefully encouraging more businesses to discover the untapped potential that lies in their social data.”

Hugh Lightbody, Chief Officer at Business Gateway, added: “We are thrilled to have Dr Jillian Ney join us for this webinar.

“She has led the field in social and internet data and her insights on how technology is changing people’s behaviour online and offline will help equip businesses with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed.

“Digital know-how is a fundamental skillset for business owners, as the opportunities the online world presents are huge.  We hope this webinar, delivered as part of our DigitalBoost programme, provides a valuable resource as businesses navigate the ever-changing digital landscape.”

For further information and to book a place on the webinar, visit: 

www.bgateway.com/events/social-media-listening-with-dr-jillian-ney-25615

Business Gateway is Scotland’s national business advisory service, offering free advice and support to anyone starting a new business, as well as to thousands of existing businesses with the ambition and potential to grow. Its DigitalBoost programme focuses on digital upskilling through free online resources and webinars from expert consultants.

For further information, visit: https://www.bgateway.com/

Scottish private sector remains in downturn in January

  • Private sector activity falls at a quickened pace in January
  • Downturn in new orders extends to seventh month
  • Marked drop in service sector new business

The Scottish private sector reported a further fall in total activity during January according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI® data.

The Business Activity Index – a measure of combined manufacturing and service sector output – fell from December’s five-month high of 48.3 to 47.1, signalling a quickened contraction in private sector output, and extended the current run of contraction to six consecutive months.

The rising cost of living, supply chain disruptions and a slowdown in the housing market all contributed towards the latest downturn in activity.

At the sector level, January data revealed that service firms led the decline, registering faster rates of reduction in both business activity and new orders compared to their manufacturing counterparts.

New business received across the Scottish private sector posted a further contraction in January. Moreover, the pace of decrease quickened from December’s three month low, signalling a sharp reduction in new work.

The downturn was led by a faster fall in new business received at service providers, while goods producers reported the softest decline in eight months. A slow housing market, transport strikes and squeezed disposable incomes were all in part blamed for the drop in new orders.

Of the 12 monitored UK regions, Scotland registered the sharpest pace of contraction in incoming new business.

After weakening for the second month running, business expectations across Scotland improved during January and printed a six-month high. Optimism largely stemmed from anticipation of new projects and increased activity. That said, the latest reading continued to post below the survey average as worries over the war in Ukraine, energy crisis, slowdown in the real estate sector and the cost-of-living crisis weighed on growth expectations.

Additionally, business sentiment across Scotland registered the third-weakest in the UK, ahead of Northern Ireland and the North East of England.

For the second month running, workforce numbers contracted across the Scottish private sector in January. The rate of job shedding was modest overall and only fractionally quicker than that seen in December. Where a drop in employment was noted, firms cited resignations, redundancies and retirements.

The drop in workforce numbers across Scotland contrasted with the no change seen at the UK-level.

The levels of unfinished work fell during January across Scotland’s private sector, thereby extending the current trend seen since last June. Moreover, the respective seasonally adjusted index ticked down from December’s four-month high, signalling the fastest rate of depletion in the aforementioned sequence. According to anecdotal evidence, lower orders allowed firms to work through previous contracts.

The rate of backlog depletion across Scotland was the fastest of all the 12 monitored UK regions.

Firms across Scotland’s private sector recorded a sharp rise in prices during January, thereby stretching the current run of inflation to 32 months. While the rate of incline measured the softest since May 2021, the latest upturn was still marked and historically elevated. According to anecdotal evidence, the incline in input costs was linked to higher prices for raw material, energy and transport, inflation and higher wages.

The pace of input price inflation across Scotland was the second-softest among the UK regions, behind the North West of England.

Private sector firms across Scotland raised their charges for goods and services for the twenty-seventh month running in January. Though the pace of charge inflation slowed to a three-month low, it remained stronger in context of survey data. The rise in charges reflected increasing cost pressures.

Adjusted for seasonality, the Prices Charged Index for Scotland posted below the UK-wide figure.

Source: Royal Bank of Scotland, S&P Global

Judith Cruickshank, Chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, commented: “The start of the year revealed that the downturn in Scottish private sector activity that began last August was extended into 2023.

“Moreover, the latest decline in private sector activity accelerated. It seems unlikely that the sector will bounce back anytime soon as services firms were severely impacted by the depressed demand conditions and the current economic climate.

“The step back in client activity has also resulted in firms trimming their workforce numbers for the second month running. Alongside an ongoing drop in the level of unfinished work, a further reduction in payroll numbers can be expected.

“However, the latest figures indicate that perhaps the worst of inflation has passed. Nonetheless, the current rates of input price and output charge inflation are still elevated and can be detrimental to the health of the Scottish private sector.”

Scottish businesses set to benefit from new specialist finance support

Lloyds Bank has appointed Jamie Kemp to the role of Invoice Finance Area Director for Scotland and the North East, as it strengthens its support for businesses across the region.

Jamie has over 11 years of experience in the finance sector, with experiencing spanning across retail, private and commercial banking. Over the last 4 years, Jamie has specialised in Invoice Finance and has been recognised by UK Finance as their Top Foundation and Certificate student.

In his latest role, Jamie held the title of Business Planning Manager for the Invoice & Asset Finance Sales division where he was responsible for overseeing and supporting national delivery and performance.

Jamie Kemp commented: “I am delighted to lead a team of highly experienced Invoice Finance professionals to deliver bespoke solutions for small to medium sized enterprises. The current climate is making the cost of operating more and more challenging for businesses.

“I’m looking forward to supporting those businesses based in the North East and Scotland through these challenging times as much as possible in my new role alongside my team.”

Ben Stephenson, the Head of Specialist Client Solutions at Lloyds Bank, added: “We are pleased to welcome Jamie into the role of Invoice Finance Area Director. He brings with him a wealth of banking and finance experience, which will stand him in good stead to excel in this role and provide exceptional service for our clients.”

While starting his new role, Jamie is also hiring for an Invoice Finance Field Sales position (Associate Director level) based in and around Glasgow. The role has been designed to attract enthusiastic and talented individuals which may be new to the Invoice Finance industry.

It offers a substantial period of training, supported by a comprehensive learning plan, which includes undertaking the Invoice Finance Foundation Course, UK Finance’s entry-level qualification. This should ensure that the successful candidate has the best possible start to a career in Invoice Finance.

Overdue invoices in Scotland hit 2022 high, new R3 research shows

The number of overdue invoices in Scotland has reached its highest level for this year, according to new research from R3, the insolvency and restructuring trade body.

R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows the number of invoices in Scotland that have gone past their payment deadline rose to 593,114 in October – the highest recorded monthly figure in 2022, and 13,941 more than September’s figure of 579, 173.

The monthly rise in late payments has been mirrored across the UK, with the South East of England and Scotland seeing the biggest jump between September and October rising 4.1% and 2.4% respectively.

The number of Scottish-based firms with overdue invoices on their books has also risen, with 101,835 companies failing to meet payments on time between August and October – an increase of 1,016 companies from the previous three months.

Richard Bathgate, Chair of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 in Scotland, says: “The increase in late payments we’ve seen in October 2022 suggests that more and more businesses are either financially distressed or potentially concerned about their cash flows and that more businesses – those on the receiving end of the late payment – are going to potentially have issues paying their own staff and suppliers.

Richard, who is Restructuring Partner at Johnston Carmichael, continues: “Those businesses that are struggling – whether that’s because they’re behind on payments or because they’re waiting for overdue invoices to be paid –need to have a contingency plan in place for mitigating the issue.

“I urge any directors worried about their company’s cash flows or finances to seek advice from a qualified restructuring professional as soon as they can.

“It can take courage but having an early discussion whilst pressures in the business aren’t severe can be the difference between a successful turnaround or a decline into financial distress. 

“You won’t know what tools are available in the toolkit of a restructuring professional unless you ask and if anyone knows how to avoid an insolvency it’s professionals who deal with them every day.”

Royal Bank of Scotland: Downturn deepens amid falling demand

  • Business Activity Index falls to 45.8 in October from 48.0 in September
  • Contraction in new orders quickens
  • Growth in employment further weakens

The contraction across Scotland’s private sector firms deepened during October, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI® data. Adjusted for seasonality, the Business Activity Index posted below the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running, at 45.8, indicating a sharp decrease overall.

Inflows of new business also went into further decline, the latest downturn being the most severe in 20 months. To further add weakness across the sector, inflationary pressures reaccelerated from September’s recent low, as service providers reported quicker upturns in input costs and charges during October.

The gloomy performance resulted to the softest intake of workers in 18 months, with goods producers reporting their first reduction in employment since January 2021.

New business received at Scottish private sector firms fell sharply during October. The rate of decrease quickened from September to the fastest in the current fourth-month sequence of reduction.

Of the two sub-sectors, manufacturing firms reported the steeper downturn. Companies noted that looming recession, economic uncertainty and the cost of living crisis weighed on client activity.

The downturn in incoming new business across Scotland outpaced the UK-wide average.

Output expectations for the year ahead across private sector firms in Scotland strengthened in the three months to October. The increase in confidence was underpinned on planned expansions and investment, with firms also hopeful of future economic stability. That said, sentiment was relatively muted in context of historical data.

Business confidence across Scotland was broadly in line with that recorded for the UK as a whole.

Employment across the Scottish private sector expanded for the nineteenth month running in October. However, amid a cooldown in hiring activity at service providers, with goods producers reporting their first contraction since January 2021, the overall rate of growth ticked down to the joint-lowest in the aforementioned series.

The rate of job creation across Scotland remained softer than that seen at the UK level, which similarly also slowed in October.

October’s survey showed a sustained fall in levels of outstanding business across Scotland’s private sector. The respective seasonally adjusted index posted below the neutral 50 threshold for the fifth consecutive month, the latest reading signalling the fastest depletion in work outstanding since January 2021. As per surveyed businesses, declines in new orders allowed firms to work through previous backlogs.

The rate of contraction in Scotland was the third-fastest across the UK, ahead of Northern Ireland and Wales.

October data signalled a robust rise in input costs across Scotland’s private sector, thereby extending the run of inflation to 29 months. Adjusted for seasonality, the latest reading increased from September’s 13-month low as a result of a reacceleration in input price inflation reported at service firms. The uptick in average costs was attributed to higher wages and utilities, cost of living crisis and general inflation adding strain on costs.

Despite being severe, the pace of input price inflation was however, softer than the UK average.

In line with the upturn in average cost burdens, charge levied by Scottish private sector firms also inclined from September’s recent low at a quickened rate during October.

The rate of charge inflation across Scotland posted weaker than the UK-wide average which slowed during October.

Source: Royal Bank of Scotland, S&P Global.

Judith Cruickshank, Chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, commented: “The Scottish private sector reported a third month of contraction during October. The downturn in activity quickened on the month, as stubbornly high inflationary pressures, the ongoing cost of living crisis and a threat of recession deterred growth. New orders received at firms also fell further.

“Employment trends across the sector indicated a slowdown in hiring activity over the recent months. The latest upturn was the joint-softest in the current 19-month sequence of expansion. At the same time, the level of outstanding business also fell at a much sharper rate. The data thus suggesting the further weakness in the labour market will not be surprising.

“As we proceed into the final quarter of the year, market conditions are set to become more challenging. The aggressive interest rate hikes, the decline in the value of sterling against the dollar and the rebound in post-COVID demand phasing out, all amidst the ongoing cost of living and energy crises, all point to an extremely difficult period for Scotland.”  

Almost 1.7 million overdue invoices in Scotland in Q3, new R3 research shows

New research from insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 reveals Scottish firms had almost 1.7 million overdue invoices on their books in the last quarter.

R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows 1,696,445 invoices were overdue in Scotland in Q3 – an increase of 7.1% from Q2’s total of 1,583,353.

Scotland and the West Midlands saw the biggest quarter-on-quarter rise in overdue invoices across the UK, followed by Northern Ireland (6.9% increase), the East Midlands (5.4%) and East Anglia (5.2%).

And Scottish businesses’ debt burden has been increasing steadily since the beginning of the year, rising from 552,897 unpaid bills in July, to 564,375 in August and 579,173 in September.

Almost 101,500 Scottish businesses reported that they had late payments on their books in Q3 2022 – a figure which peaked at 33,936 firms in September.

Richard Bathgate, Chair of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 in Scotland, says: “This research highlights late payment is a growing issue in Scotland, and would suggest that businesses are facing ongoing cash-flow challenges, whether that’s supplier or client side …

“For small businesses that rely on regular income, even if just one client fails to pay or there is a delay in payment, that can have a serious effect – and in some cases, may mean they become financially distressed or insolvent.”

Richard, who is Restructuring Partner at Johnston Carmichael in Aberdeen continues: “I would urge the directors of any businesses who are worried about the impact of late payments or are worried about their ability to pay their invoices to seek professional advice.

“There are many steps that can be taken to support businesses, but they can only be taken if you move quickly and act early before the issue spirals.”