‘Bleak winter’ for businesses

CONFIDENCE and sales dropped in Scotland’s economy despite a return to trading as coronavirus restrictions were eased, according to a report.

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) Quarterly Economic Indicator suggests retail and tourism were hit particularly hard ahead of a ‘bleak winter’. More than half of retail and wholesale firms reported a fall in total and domestic sales in the third quarter of 2020, while 46 per cent of tourism firms reported a fall in sales compared with the second quarter.

SCC’s Tim Allan said: ‘This shows how fragile some parts of the economy in Scotland remain during this crisis.’