Friday High Five – the news this week
If you wanted a clear example of the perils facing the regional economy then it’s writ large through some of our most prominent stories this week.
Higher interest rates have put a strain on borrowing costs.
Just look at Manchester United and their plans for a new stadium. After the Glazer family have loaded the business with debt, and regularly took out their hefty dividends, United can’t afford to build a world class stadium like the one they’ve dangled in front of fans – modelled on the Los Angeles Raiders new home.
With a price tag nudging up £3billion – three times that of Spurs – it’s no wonder that the whole project is being packaged up as a regeneration vision with the hope of government subsidy and support.
The purchase of a majority stake in industrial compounder CorpAcq, by highly geared private equity player TDC, is a vote of confidence in the kind of solid British businesses that quietly get on with the job amidst the noise of everyday life.
I can’t recall CorpAcq selling anything – same with TDC – so you have to wonder if the deal is now about packaging up and selling off the portfolio given the strong interest in stable UK industrial assets from US corporates emboldened by President Trump’s rhetoric, and all those hungry private equity investors with funds to invest.
Absorbing shocks comes with the territory of running a business. But there seem to be a lot of them to take on right now, as the Red Flag Alert from business undertakers Begbies Traynor highlighted.
The 0.5% apprenticeship levy introduced in 2017 arrived with barely a murmur, despite it being a payroll tax which most qualifying companies have simply absorbed, partly due to a mixture of restrictions to which training can be offset, and a paucity of provision. But the 1% National Insurance hike is going to be tough to swallow.
The proposals for a Clean Air Zone in Greater Manchester were vehemently opposed by van drivers and bus companies, largely because the alternatives to their polluting vehicles weren’t available, it was too much stick and no carrot, making it hard to defend and not helped by a tidal wave of conspiracy nonsense.
The Mayor’s political pivot, and the pursuit of a greener bus fleet, has kicked the issue down the M6 for now. But you only have to look at the weather today to know that there is a climate emergency. Whether you want to build resilience to cope with it, or contribute to global efforts to try to reverse what is causing it, there will be a cost.
Stay safe this weekend.
