Confidence returns for Scottish firms

Business confidence solidified across Scotland last month.

The latest Bank of Scotland Business Barometer – a survey of 1,200 firms – found companies had higher confidence in their business prospects in April and improved levels of economic optimism.

Together, the results saw the overall confidence index push 18% ahead to 30%, marginally below the unchanged UK-wide confidence score of 32%.

“It’s encouraging to see firms in Scotland growing in confidence, especially given the challenging business environment,” Fraser Sime, bank regional director for Scotland.

“The rise in positivity was the biggest of any UK region, which bodes well for Scotland’s prospects during 2018, though we still expect levels to fluctuate through the year.

“The fact that a significant number of firms expect to recruit more staff, and that this figure is steadily growing, is a good indication that businesses are planning for growth with cautious optimism.”

While the bank’s research pointed to an improving picture, the latest Scottish Construction Monitor painted a less rosy picture for the building trade.

It found confidence had slipped amidst concerns over labour

Scottish Building Federation managing director Vaughan Hart said: “One key impact of the Brexit process for Scottish construction employers will certainly be the availability of skills and labour from other EU member states – and related to this, future labour costs.

“With only around 4% of the workforce coming from other EU member states, the Scottish industry is less directly exposed to this impact than other regions of the UK, particularly London, where around half of the local construction workforce is made up of non-UK EU nationals.

“However, the indirect impact on labour costs within the Scottish industry could be much more considerable.”

Vaughan Hart of the Scottish Building Federation.