1286348929 By Scott Wright THE limits on trading brought by continuing coronavirus restrictions have left companies “close to exhaustion,” a leading Scottish business figure has declared. Tim Allan, president of Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), underlined the toll on business from “some of the most challenging trading conditions in modern history” as the group revealed the findings of its latest quarterly report. It warned that businesses in Scotland “face significant hurdles” on the path to recovery. The Quarterly Economic Indicator (QEI) for the first quarter, which completes a full year of measuring the effects of lockdown on businesses, shows retail was the worst performing sector over the first three months of the year.