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At the risk of defending the "Fat Cats" of corporate Britain, new research from market analysts Plimsoll shows that rising executive pay is broadly in line with the results they are delivering. Increased sales and significantly better profit margins mean there is a “job well done” acceptance among many shareholders that they are worth every penny.
Zombie companies are being kept afloat by cheap money according to Plimsoll. Despite its enormity and the chaos it wrought, the ‘Great Recession’ that followed the 2008 financial crash didn’t force as many companies out of business as you would normally expect.
Economic activity has rebounded strongly in most countries after the pandemic. Record growth has been seen in wide sections of the economy over the last quarter, as supply struggled to match 18 months of pent-up demand flooding into markets. However, after an explosive first quarter of growth, after restrictions were eased, economic reality appears to be starting to bite. Growth has fallen to its lowest level in 6 months as slower consumer spending in the face of rising infection rates.
The annual Plimsoll Mood Survey never fails to throw a surprise or two. Our end of year survey gauges how business leaders are feeling heading into the next trading year, and 2020’s survey results are the most surprising to date.
The coronavirus is, without doubt, the biggest disruption most businesses and their leaders will ever face. While the magnitude of the impact it has had on the health of companies and markets is only now starting to become clear, there are, among the despair of job losses and closures, some companies that continue to ride a wave.
The UK tech sector has retained its position as the biggest in Europe and the third biggest globally with a combined value of more than US$1 trillion. However, there are growing concerns that this jewel in the British industrial crown could get sucked into the maelstrom of staffing, energy and administrative crises enveloping other industries.
Waste management is going through a period of flux as the sector fragments into shifting lifestyle trends, increased end-user convenience and macroeconomic shifts.
Zombie companies have been kept afloat by cheap money and favourable governance over the past decade and a half. The economic crises from the ‘Great Recession’ that followed the 2008 financial crash, to the impact of Brexit and onto the pandemic, didn’t force as many companies out of business as a normally would have been expected.
The UK’s 200 leading companies continue to be a bellwether by which to measure the health, global reach, and economic outlook of the nation. Crises erupt and abate but UK Plc’s largest businesses persist, adapt and are a constant measure of economic stability.
As with most major economy shocks, there are winners and there are losers. While many companies were completely caught out by COVID-19, others are in a position to benefit.