This morning I attended a meeting of Elevator (also known as Enterprise North East Trust, the organisation that runs Business Gateway in the North East). As you would expect, the downturn in the oil and gas sector is having an impact. There has been a 20% increase in people looking to start their own business, however fewer business units being let. Some tenants are shutting up shop due to a lack of orders and work. The business centres in Stonehaven and Portlethen for example are normally full, but not at the moment. The market is certainly fragile