THE challenges facing the Scottish hospitality sector post-Covid have featured prominently on the business news agenda in recent days, and unfortunately for the trade it has not brought much in the way of Christmas cheer.

Industry bodies have been intensifying calls for the Scottish Government for provide relief from business rates to ease the pressure from mounting overheads in its Scottish Budget for 2024/25, which will be announced on December 19.

The issue has been brought into sharp focus because of the decision by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, to grant firms in the hospitality, retail, and leisure sectors, 75% relief from business rates in England and Wales for a further year, in the Autumn Statement.

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Business rates policy is devolved, and Scottish ministers have offered relief from rates in different formats, noting that relief in the current financial year will be worth £749 million. Thanks to the small business bonus scheme, they say, more than 100,000 firms have been lifted from the burden of paying rates completely.

This has cut little sway with hospitality campaigners, who feel more of the relief should be going their way. But so far at least, they have been frustrated in their efforts.

Lorna Slater, Scottish Greens MSP, and minister for green skills, circular economy, and biodiversity, declared that her party “cannot support a new relief from non-domestic rates in the hospitality sector” in correspondence to a constituent seen by The Herald – a significant development given the Greens’ power-sharing status with the SNP at Holyrood.

Ms Salter, in essence, said further relief could not be provided without raising rates elsewhere or making cuts to other services.

Needless to say, her stance provoked much disappointment in the hospitality trade, which also revealed it has been frustrated in its efforts to directly engaged with Shona Robison, Deputy First Minister, and Finance Secretary in the Scottish Government.

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The Scottish Hospitality Group issued a public challenge to Ms Robison to meet business owners, stating that it received no response from the minister to the two letters of invitation it had sent.

“In our hour of need, it is extremely disappointing that Shona Robison can’t find the time to meet with hospitality businesses to listen to what we have to say,” said director Stephen Montgomery. “We are willing to meet with her any time and in any place, and we hope she will finally accept our invitation.”

At this juncture, it would seem unlikely that Christmas cards will be exchanged between the two parties.

In the housebuilding sector, meanwhile, things are perhaps looking up for Elgin-based Springfield Properties after a tumultuous year. The Highland housebuilder strengthened its balance sheet with the sale of 45 acres of land, equating to 190 plots, for £4.2m.

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It has been striving the slash debt since issuing a concerning update to the stock market in September, when it suspended dividend payments and warned that it did not expect to see “any material improvement in homebuyer confidence” before spring.

That update came as the housing market responded to a series of interest rate rises, which led to a sharp increase in mortgage costs for many homeowners.

Since then, Springfield has raised nearly £10m from land sales, and has signalled that there would be more to come, while emphasising that these efforts would not impact on its pipeline of building opportunities. Sentiment at the builder is also likely to have been boosted by the publication of the latest Nationwide House Price Index which showed that house prices had grown for a third month in a row, following a surprise rise of 0.2% month on month in November on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Things are also on the up at Commsworld, the Edinburgh-based digital connectivity specialist. The company hailed its “strong pipeline” of work as it reported a £1 million rise in pre-tax profits of £3.3m for the year December 31, 2022.

Commsworld said it reaped the benefit from contracts such as delivering connectivity throughout Glasgow city centre as turnover leapt by £5.2m to £27.9m. And the company declared its momentum has continued with high-profile contracts to support the UCI World Cycling Championship and TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow this summer.

Bruce Strang, the firm’s chief operating officer, told The Herald: “It is going very well both in the public and private sector. We have picked up a lot of net new business and also we are in the process of delivering some major programmes of activity.”

He added: “We are seeing a strong pipeline of activity, so it is going very well.”