Business and Finance Roundup for the UK and Spain

Reluctant scientists

THE Spanish Space Agency recently held its first board meeting in Sevilla.

This was chaired by the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, who announced that with its annual budget of €700 million the agency should begin drafting the National Space Plan as soon as possible.

Its staff of 75 should be operational by the next quarter, Morant added.

This could be problematic, however.

Twenty employees from the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), whose functions were assumed by the agency, have not yet made arrangements to leave Madrid.

They have been promised transfers with identical conditions but are still negotiating the move with the Ministry of Science and the Administration.

Adif quandary ADIF, Spain’s publicly-owned rail infrastructure company, is scrutinising bids for a €621 million tender (€513.3 excluding IVA) for its largest project in recent years.

This involves putting below ground Barcelona’s R2 track as it crosses Montcada i Reixac.

So far, Ferrovial’s €446.6 million bid (excluding IVA) is apparently the most viable, although the multinational’s decision to relocate its headquarters to the Netherlands still rankles with the Spanish government.

So much so that Adif is taking the unusual step of bringing in an external engineering consultancy to analyse all the bids competing for the contract, possibly in hopes of finding a valid reason for eliminating Ferrovial.

Coronation earners POTTERY, flags, t-shirts, Westminister Abbey-shaped biscuits and tins to put them in have been produced round the clock for the Coronation.

The UK is spending around £250 million (€284 million) on souvenirs and memorabilia, the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) said.

This could mount up to far more, as the CRR believes the final figure will top £1.6 billion (€2.8 billion) once tourist cash, plus spending on parties and going out is included.

Bridgewater Pottery, for instance, have already sold more than £1 million (€1.1 million) worth of items emblazoned “Three Cheers for King Charles”, although normal sales were currently a struggle, owner Emma Bridgewater said.

Adif quandary ADIF, Spain’s publicly-owned rail infrastructure company, is scrutinising bids for a €621 million tender (€513.3 excluding IVA) for its largest project in recent years.

This involves putting below ground Barcelona’s R2 track as it crosses Montcada i Reixac.

So far, Ferrovial’s €446.6 million bid (excluding IVA) is apparently the most viable, although the multinational’s decision to relocate its headquarters to the Netherlands still rankles with the Spanish government.

So much so that Adif is taking the unusual step of bringing in an external engineering consultancy to analyse all the bids competing for the contract, possibly in hopes of finding a valid reason for eliminating Ferrovial’s.

Northern outlook JOB vacancies grew rapidly in the North during 2022 but 2023 is now preparing for a slowdown.
Professional vacancies in the North grew faster than in the rest of England and Wales in 2022, with over 81,500 new jobs registered, a 16 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the trade association for the professional recruitment sector.

However, year-to-date vacancies in 2023 have not kept up with last year’s numbers, although forecasts show that northern vacancies could reach over 74,300 by the end of 2023.

Positive prospects SPAIN’S Paradores continues to benefit from the tourism boom following the pandemic years.

The state-owned chain of 100 hotels announced a turnover of €310 million last year, the first time that this has risen above €300 in its 95 years of existence.

The good results continued during the first four months 2033, with earnings between January and April rising by 1.4 per cent to €80 million, an unprecedented amount for that time of the year.

“These figures are formidable,” said Pedro Saura, the Paradores’ president.  “They are better than we expected and promise very positive prospects for all of 2023.”

Cold call onslaught THE UK will ban all cold calls selling financial products.

The crackdown is being introduced to prevent fraudsters from selling sham insurance or cryptocurrency schemes.

A new fraud squad will be created with a staff of 500 compared to the existing 120, although Labour and the Liberal Democrat MPs described the plan as “too little, too late.”

Consumer group Which? welcomed the strategy but also criticised the government for not acting sooner.

Fraud is now the UK’s most common crime, with one in 15 people falling victim to scams. Media regulator Ofcom revealed that 41 million people were targeted by calls and texts last summer, with an online element present in most fraud.

On the scent SPAIN exported €6.515 billion in perfumes, cosmetics and essential oils  last year, 21 per cent more than in 2021.

These figures were the highest since it first began carrying out surveys in 2017, announced Spain’s National Association of Perfumes and Cosmetics (Stanpa).

Cosmetics are now one of Spain’s principal exports, ahead of wine and footwear, each of which registered international sales of approximately €3 billion in 2022.  They also outstripped olive oil exports of €4.2 billion, Stanpa pointed out.

The industry now exports to more than 175 countries, compared to 150 in 2021 when Europe accounted for 82 per cent of Stanpa members’ foreign sales.

These fell to 51 per cent in 2022, with the remaining 49 per cent destined for the US, UK, Mexico, China and United Arab Emirates.

Temp becomes permanent VODAFONE appointed interim boss Margherita Della Valle as its permanent chief executive.

Bringing to an end almost five months of uncertainty, the British multinational telecommunications company said that Della Valle –Vodafone’s former chief financial officer – was hired after a “rigorous internal and external search.”

She occupied the CEO role on an interim basis after Vodafone sacked predecessor Nick Reid last December after four years, amid concerns over the company’s performance.

Della Valla will take on the job parallel to her role as Vodafone’s finance chief while a replacement is sought.

Sweet notion LEFTIES, part of the Inditex group, will start selling sweets in their principal stores.

The affordable fashion chain, launched as a Primark competitor, has come to an agreement with the Murcia confectionary company, Golosinas Fini.

This takes Inditex a step further in its plans for Digital Stores incorporating technological advances that integrate both digital and in-person channels.

These will offer music booths, makeup services, retro-type video and basketball games, drinking fountains for pets as well as persons and a customised clothes service creating unique items.

Keep right on UK employees are likely to be working into their 70s, according to findings that were released on International Workers’ Day, May 1.

Rest Less, an online community for the over-50s which provides advice for older workers, concluded that many people had little choice but to continue working owing to the cost-of-living crisis.

There were 446,601 over-70s still in employment last year, a 61 per cent increase compared with 277,926 in 2012, Rest Less, said.

While most were male, the rise has been more marked among women as a result of the gradual equalisation of pension ages between 2010 and 2020.

Pub facelift BREWING giant Heineken is planning a £40 million (€45.5) cash injection into UK pubs.

Upgrading 570 pubs – practically a quarter of Heineken’s UK premises – this year will create approximately 600 jobs.

The company runs 2,400 pubs in the UK via Star Pubs & Bars and Lawson Mountstevens, the operation’s managing director, stressed the importance of continued investment in Heineken’s venues despite the “uncertain” consumer panorama.

The group revealed that 100 pubs are in line for full revamps which will cost around £200,000 (€227,445) each as part of its investment programme.