A Borders accountancy firm is pursuing its next wave of growth in Edinburgh as the pandemic has led firms and business leaders to re-assess their positions in the wake of lockdown.
Darren Thompson, managing director of Kelso-based Douglas Homes & Co, said is the firm is moving to new offices in Charlotte Square after its expansion plans were put on pause by the pandemic. Mr Thomson and two of his five other co-directors – Sheryl Macaulay and Alan Drummond – will be based there regularly, along with up to 10 other staff from the 70-strong firm.
“We’re doubling down on our belief that Edinburgh is the platform to our continued growth," Mr Thompson said. “In fact, we believe that is even more likely now, because we are seeing the unintended consequences of the pandemic with so many key figures across multiple industries rethinking their career priorities.
“Some are choosing to retire early, while others are pursuing career changes they probably wouldn’t have contemplated before Covid-19. Either way it puts the emphasis on succession planning, with smart businesses determined to have contingencies in place. That is where we come in."
In July the firm, which has a 3100-strong client base, reported a 4 per cent rise in turnover to £4 million for its latest financial year. It operates out of four offices in the Scottish Borders, another in East Lothian and two in the north of England.
The plan is to attract more corporate clients from the capital, where it originally opened a small base in Rutland Square in March 2019. Mr Thompson said this is expected to unlock further growth "across central Scotland and beyond".
“Long before the pandemic we realised that Edinburgh was crucial to our future plans," he added. "More than 470 of our existing clients are in Edinburgh and the Lothians, with 190 of those being city based.
“Our goal as a firm is very clear – we want to add 100 further significant Edinburgh-based clients to our roster within the next five years. That is eminently doable, but we believe that having a base in the Scottish capital is absolutely essential to that end."
Primark sales fall short as Covid continues to take its toll
Sales at fashion retailer Primark fell short of management expectations in its latest quarter, hit by public health restrictions in major markets to control the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant.
Owned by Associated British Foods, Primark's like-for-like sales in its fourth quarter to September 18 were down 17% on the same period two years ago. That was after a 3% increase in the third quarter when stores reopened from pandemic lockdowns.
Primark's two biggest markets, the UK and Spain, were particularly badly hit.
Britain suffered in late June and early July from a surge in the number of people self-isolating following contact tracing alerts - the so-called "pingdemic". Spain was hurt by the decline of foreign tourism.
The group said Primark, which does not trade online, did see an improvement from a weekly decline in like-for-like sales of 24% early in the quarter to a drop of 10% in recent weeks.
UK must 'flip business taxation on its head'
British businesses have demanded that finance minister Rishi Sunak stop raising their taxes and instead offer more help to meet the challenges of Brexit, Covid-19 and climate change when he makes major budget statements next month.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) urged Mr Sunak to "flip business taxation on its head" when he sets out new tax proposals and a three-year spending plan on October 27.
"The lack of detail and pace from the government on some of the big economic choices we must make as a country are the biggest concerns for business," CBI Director General Tony Danker said in excerpts of a speech to be delivered later today.
Mr Danker told the Chancellor to stop hitting companies that invest in making their premises less carbon-intensive with increased property tax payments, a quirk of the business rates system. He also said more needed to be done to boost skills training, speed up the development of new infrastructure projects and rewrite market rules to attract more private investment.
The CBI and other employer groups protested last week that jobs would be lost after the government said it would increase social security contributions to fund social and health care. That followed March's announcement of an increase in corporation tax from 2023 to help fix the hole left by the UK government's £350 billion spending response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I am deeply worried the government thinks that taxing business - perhaps more politically palatable - is without consequence to growth," Mr Danker said.
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