Scotland’s SBI fell by 23.2 points between Q3 and Q4, reaching -22.0. This marked the second consecutive quarterly decline and the first negative reading since Q4 2020.
The fall in confidence amongst small businesses in Scotland came amidst widespread supply-side issues, the emergence of the Omicron Covid-19 variant and cashflow issues caused by late payment. The pessimism shown in the latest round of the Scottish SBI likely reflects businesses’ fears over more Covid trading restrictions in late 2021 and early 2022.