Covid-hit aerospace a big factor in business decline
OUTPUT from South West factories has fallen – with the Covid-hit aerospace industry being blamed for the decline.
A major survey published by Make UK and business advisory firm Binder Dijker Otte (BDO) shows the brutal impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with the manufacturing sector overall seeing a drop in output of 10% nationally in 2020.
Although confidence remains high and business conditions have improved, there are fears that problems with exports to the European Union will turn out to be more than mere “teething troubles”.
According to the survey, output in the South West contracted from the end of last year, mainly in response to negative UK orders which reflect the supply of components into the aerospace sector impacting on the region.
By contrast, export orders remained flat, which reflects the national picture in response to exporters struggling with the increased bureaucracy and costs of dealing with new EU trading rules.
Reflecting the continuing difficult business conditions, recruitment intentions have also remained negative, as have investment intentions.
By contrast, however, business confidence among South West manufacturers remains high, suggesting that they are expecting more positive growth through the year.
In response to the improving business conditions through the year, Make UK has upgraded its forecasts for manufacturing growth this year to 3.9%, up from 2.7% at the end of 2020.
Jim Davison, region director for Make UK in the South West, said: “After the seismic shock to the sector last year, manufacturers in the South West are seeing a slow road to recovery, especially given the major structural issues affecting the automotive sector and its supply chain. The major cloud on the horizon, however, remains the transition to new trading arrangements with the EU which go beyond ‘teething troubles’.
“Government must recognise this and work with industry and the EU to smooth these problems out, or the problems we are seeing now will become structural and permanent. This will have long-term consequences for exporters who will lose business and importers who will choose to give up on the UK market altogether.”
Matthew Sewell, head of Manufacturing at BDO in the South West, said: “With investment intentions among manufacturers in the South West remaining in negative territory, the Chancellor’s recently announced super-deduction tax incentive presents a real opportunity for those firms with access to finance to bring forward investment plans into the qualifying period and boost their productivity.
“However, the proposed two-year window is arguably too short. What the region’s manufacturers really need is certainty over the longer term to allow the sector to confidently invest over a ten to 15-year horizon.
“While the results of this quarter’s survey are in some ways encouraging, the next six to nine months will nevertheless be critical for those manufacturers facing financial distress. Many will have deferred tax payments and taken on additional loans to help them through the crisis.” He warned “tough decisions” would have to be taken by some.
‘The major cloud remains the transition to new trading arrangments with the EU’ JIM DAVISON, MAKE UK
AMAN accused of the murder of Exeter woman Lorraine Cox made regular calls to male and female escort services in the city, his trial has been told.
Just a couple of hours before allegedly killing 32-year-old Lorraine, Azam Mangori, 24, sent a message to one escort asking if he was working.
In the days leading up to Lorraine’s death, he made regular contact with male, female and transgender escorts, his phone records show.
Mangori is standing trial at Exeter Crown Crown. He denies the murder of Lorraine, who was on her way back from a drinking session with friends when she disappeared in Exeter city centre on September 1 last year.
The latest day of her murder trial heard evidence from police about information they retrieved from Mangori’s phone after his arrest on September 8. It showed that, between August 22 and September 4, he contacted 22 different numbers associated with escorts based in the Exeter area.
About an hour before he left his flat above the city’s Bodrum Kebab House, he sent a message to a male escort asking: ‘You working now?’ He received no reply due to the late hour. Half an hour later, he contacted a female escort. Just after 2am, Mangori left his flat and walked up High Street, where he saw Lorraine on her own.
CCTV shows that Mangori followed her as she walked towards Sidwell Street. At one stage he overtook her before doubling back and stopping to talk to the woman. The pair, who did not know each other, had sex in an alleyway. Mangori recorded audio of the encounter on his phone.
The two returned to the kebab shop building on the coroner of Mary Arches Street at 2.45am. It is alleged that, once inside, Mangori murdered Lorraine.
DC Joanne Rotchell said police examined Mangori’s phones and how he used them before and after Lorraine went missing.
At 4.49am, phone analysis showed Mangori sent two messages to two contacts on Snapchat. DC Rotchell said police were not able to see the content of those messages due to the nature of how Snapchat works.
Later that evening, Mangori took selfies of himself vaping and listening to music. Detectives looked at call data, internet use, messages, social media, and SIM card transfers.
The jury was played videos, which, the prosecution say, reveal the defendant’s ‘morbid’ interest in amputation.
DC Rotchell said that by 1pm on the day of the alleged killing Mangori had gained access to Lorraine’s Facebook account. It is claimed he began using Lorraine’s SIM in his own phone to gain access to her messages and pretend to family and friends that she was still alive.
The prosecution say he spent the week after killing Lorraine cutting up her body and disposing of it in bins and woodland.
On September 6, images about grave-digging were viewed on Mangori’s phone. They were linked to a website titled: ‘How to dig a grave by hand’.
DC Rotchell said that the website provided a step-by-step guide to digging a grave and the tools to use.
Two days later, his phone was used to view Google Maps scenes of Tinpit Hill, near Newton St Cyres. Mangori then took a taxi to the location and disposed of some of Lorraine’s remains.
Tenants who lived in the kebab house with Mangori have previously described him to the jury as ‘quiet’ and somebody they did not know.
The trial continues this week.