However, this is only slightly above 2008 figures and represents a slower rate of growth than the 1.8 per cent seen in 2011-12, showing that it is still hard to achieve higher living standards.
The ONS report also showed that companies and public corporations represent 64 per cent of total businesses and the largest industry group is professional, scientific and technical, accounting for 16.9 per cent of all registered businesses.
There are 46,000 finance and insurance firms in the UK, a level which held steady on the year, with 18,500 in London and the south-east, while the
number of property firms increased 3,000 to 80,000, and professional, scientific and technical businesses rose 14,000 to 366,000.
London saw the highest growth in newly-registered businesses, at 13,000, representing a 3.5 per cent rise and also has the largest number of VAT and/or PAYE-based firms, accounting for 17.2 per cent of the UK total.
The south-east came next with 15.7 per cent of all firms and a rise of 2,000 on March 2012.
According to the London Chambers of Commerce, the figures are an indication of the overall recovery of the economy, with a spokesman saying that programmes such as Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice have helped make business “cool”.
The report summed up by revealing that the total number of registered firms rose over the last couple of years, following a decline, unsurprisingly, since 2008. According to the data, there were a total of 2.17 million enterprises registered for VAT and/or PAYE in March this year in comparison with 2.15 million in March 2012.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 575 )House building activity rose at its fastest pace in almost a decade in September, suggesting that the Government’s Help to Buy scheme is creating demand for new build properties.
According to the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for September, house building was 64.8, only a fraction below November 2003’s 64.9, while the index for construction overall was down slightly but only to 58.9 from August’s 59.1.
In addition, it has been revealed that the construction industry is taking on staff at the fastest rate in almost six years, with job creation rising for the fourth consecutive month; and according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, builders are using the renewal to invest in staff and resources.
Economists watching the sector are saying that construction is no longer the weakest link in the UK economy and more than half the industry experts surveyed expect output to rise over the next 12 months, with only 9 per cent predicting a fall, giving the highest level of confidence since August 2010.
Meanwhile, house prices in the three months to September were 6.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, the highest rate since June 2010, according to the latest survey. Prices rose by 0.3 per cent in September compared with the month before, taking the average house price to £170,733.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 568 )Manufacturing in the UK grew for the sixth consecutive month in September, recording its strongest quarterly performance for two and a half years, while growth in output and new orders remained close to August’s 19-year high.
The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed that manufacturing activity in September was 56.7 on the Index, where any reading above 50 signals growth.
Although lower than August’s 57.1, the reading was still the fastest rate of growth for the industry since the middle of 2010, leading to an aggressive expansion in recruitment in the sector.
The jobs measure jumped from 51.9 to 54, its highest since the mini-boom in early 2011. Manufacturing crashed back into recession in 2012, but began growing again in the first half of this year. However, it remains about 10 per cent below pre-crisis levels.
A spokesperson for EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, said that the figures show another solid month for manufacturing with output, orders and employment all up, paving the way for a decent quarter of growth across the sector.
They added that the good run of indicators should continue beyond the end of this year with some expansion in manufacturing taking place in Europe, Asia and the US.
In fact, the only weak point in the survey was the slower rise in export orders, which a Markit economist said was disappointing, as they would expect to be seeing far stronger export gains than companies are currently reporting, especially with the Eurozone showing signs of finally pulling out of recession.
However, the general reception to the data was that it was good news, as with manufacturing accounting for 10 per cent of the economy, its continued strength will add to the belief that the economy is becoming more “broad based”.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 538 )Speaking at the Conservative party conference yesterday (September 30), Chancellor George Osborne said that he plans to freeze the duty on fuel until May 2015.
The Chancellor revealed he aims to cancel the 2p-a-litre rise pencilled in by Labour for September 2014, continuing a freeze that has already lasted two-and-a-half years.
Mr Osborne claimed drivers would save £750m a year under the plans,
however, the promise is conditional on finding savings to pay for it and came as the Chancellor declared that he wanted a future Conservative government to run a surplus.
Warning that the battle to rebuild the UK economy is not over, the Chancellor effectively outlined a new fiscal rule designed to protect Britain from future crashes.
Mr Osborne rejected accusations of complacency about the recovery, insisting there was "no feeling of a task completed or a victory won", saying that the sun has started to rise above the hill and the future looks brighter than it did just a few dark years ago.
However, as far as fuel duty is concerned, both the AA and the RAC pointed out that Mr Osborne was already getting big sums from motorists in taxation, with Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, saying that transport is the single biggest area of household expenditure bar none.
He added that the RAC’s own research shows that 800,000 of the poorest households are in transport poverty, spending a quarter or more of their income on running a car. He therefore welcomed the proposal but pointed out that the Chancellor still takes 60 per cent of the price of a litre of fuel in the form of taxation.
The British Chambers of Commerce said the move would be welcomed by small businesses, although its chief John Longworth warned that they will want to ensure that ambition becomes a reality.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 539 )On the eve of the Conservative party conference, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that the second part of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme, which will help people with small deposits buy new build homes, will be brought forward to start within two weeks.
The second phase of the scheme, the first part of which was launched in April, will allow homebuyers across the UK to buy properties worth up to £600,000 with a deposit of only 5 per cent.
With phase two due to start originally in January next year, applications for loans from the scheme will now be brought forward to week beginning October 7, although loans will not be paid out until January.
Under the first phase of the scheme, the Government will give homebuyers in England equity loans of up to 20 per cent of the price of a new property worth up to £600,000.
Critics fear that the lure of 95 per cent mortgages will generate a new housing bubble, particularly in the South East but speaking on the Andrew Marr show yesterday (September 29) the Prime Minister dismissed their concerns, saying that people should trust the Bank of England, which has been given an enhanced role in monitoring the effect of the scheme on prices.
Mr Cameron also said on the show that there will be no ‘mansion tax’ if he is Prime Minister after the next election and made it clear that this would be a so-called “red line”, meaning a point he would refuse to concede should there be coalition negotiations with the Liberal Democrats for a further term of office.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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