Business News Round Up (02/08/2024)
Fears Manchester office market facing drought with no schemes due to start
Property experts have warned of a ‘pinch point’ for Grade A office supply in Manchester following analysis of the region’s commercial scene. The Knight Frank data shows that, while demand for office space in Manchester is higher than pre-Covid levels, no new commercial buildings are starting on site. Manchester also registered the highest year-on-year rental growth of the regional cities at 13%, reaching £45 in the second quarter of 2024. The prime rent has risen by 20% since the onset of the pandemic. David Porter, head of Knight Frank’s Manchester office, said: “There’s no schemes due to commence in Manchester city centre. By the middle of next year everything will be complete. Even if a developer did get onsite in the next month or so it would be 2027 before anything reached completion. So, we are expecting a pinch point in Grade A office supply over the next few years.”
UK Government cuts £1.3 billion of UK tech and AI funding
The new Labour Government has shelved £1.3bn of “unfunded” investment for UK tech and artificial intelligence (AI) projects promised by the previous Conservative administration. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said no new funding for the programmes had been allocated in the previous government’s spending plans, and therefore will not be taken forward. It included £800m for the creation of an ‘exascale’ supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh and £500m of additional funding for the AI Research Resource, a scheme which helps fund computing power for AI. An additional £300m committed to the AI Research Resource has been committed to, the government said, as this funding was already in place, has been distributed and will continue as planned. The government said it was pulling together its own plans to invest in compute infrastructure as part of the development of its AI Opportunities Action Plan.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/uk-government-cuts-13-billion-33381110
Dip in number of private equity deals in North West in 2024
UK transactions involving mid-market private equity investors in the North West of England declined in the first half of 2024, new analysis from KPMG UK has revealed. KPMG’s latest Mid-Market Private Equity study, which tracks deal flow and sentiment, shows that 35 deals were completed in the North West in the first half of 2024, reflecting a drop in volume of almost 13% compared to the 40 deals completed during the same period in 2023. However, the deals completed remained consistent with H2 2023 (35). Against pre-pandemic M&A activity (H1 2019), 2024’s figure reflects an increase in activity of 25% suggesting the market has begun to normalise. In terms of the proportion of deals completed compared to the rest of the country, the North West accounted for 10.9% of all deals taking place in the first half of this year, a slight reduction from 11.1% in H1 2023.
https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/private-equity-deals-in-north-west-dips-in-2024/
Scottish Government commits £8m to new round of public sector innovation challenges
First established eight years ago, the CivTech programme has identified 90 start-ups that have provided technology to help solve the service and operational challenges of public bodies across the country. The Scottish Government is to give up to £8m to support a new round of CivTech challenges. Launched in 2016, the innovation programme aims to find tech-enabled solutions to public sector problems. This year there are nine challenges, with projects to focus on how technologies can help tackle issues such as firefighters’ exposure to contaminants and pharmaceutical waste. Other challenges are to focus on how to improve circularity in the NHS supply chain, and how to enhance public participation in policymaking. Successful applicants will work with their challenge sponsor to develop their proposal and pitch for a place in the programme’s accelerator phase, where participants will have access to financial and practical support to commercialise their product.