Business News Round Up (05/11/2020)
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£134m boost to help UK businesses build back greener
Businesses across the UK are set to benefit from £134 million investment, enabling ground-breaking clean growth projects develop new technologies and secure new jobs.Robots that patrol UK roads to detect and repair cracks and potholes, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) that will help to reduce beer waste and converting seaweed into compostable packaging are just some of over 1,000 projects that will today receive £134 million of government investment.Businesses right across the UK, from Glasgow to Devon, are set to benefit from the investment, enabling 1,069 ground-breaking clean growth projects develop new technologies, secure, and create new jobs, drive productivity and tackle climate change.
https://www.businessleader.co.uk/134m-boost-to-help-uk-businesses-build-back-greener/102016/
Manchester becomes UK’s second most attractive city for tech investment
Manchester has cemented its reputation as the fastest-growing tech city within Europe, with VC investment reaching $687.6m in 2019, up from $199.1m in 2018. It is now only second to London when it comes to investment, overtaking Cambridge for the first time. Manchester tech has had a stellar year, in part thanks to the successful IPO of e-commerce giant The Hut Group which has demonstrated the calibre of tech companies across the region. The area’s rich heritage in manufacturing has helped to power the city’s growing e-commerce industry with other unicorns in Manchester including Auto Trader UK and On The Beach Holidays. Thanks to these fast-growing tech companies, the digital tech sector in Manchester employed more than 100,000 people in 2019, according to data from ONS, Tech Nation, the UK network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs, and job search engine Adzuna.
Permanent job numbers continued to fall in October
The number of permanent jobs across Scotland fell again in October but the rate of decline is more moderate. Data from the Royal Bank of Scotland has shown that permanent jobs have continued to fall. Those who responded to the survey said the drop was down to firms suspending hiring during the coronavirus pandemic. But there is better news on temporary posts with growth the most marked since late-2018, amid reports of firmer demand for short-term staff and lingering uncertainty around the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data signalled the first rise in temporary staff vacancies since February. But the availability of both permanent and temporary candidates continued to rise sharply amid reports of further redundancies, although the rates of increase did ease from September.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/permanent-job-numbers-continued-fall-22960766
North West M&A on the rise after sharp drop
The volume of North West transactions dipped across 2020’s first three quarters, according to new data, although activity has picked up in recent months. Experian’s latest M&A Review shows that year-on-year for the period to 30 September 2020, the amount of deals completed was down 34% to 420%. From Q1 to Q2, the volume dropped sharply as the Covid-19 crisis took hold. However, Q3 brought about a rise to 130 transactions from the 90 completed in the previous quarter. The increase is considered to be a positive sign as the market makes steps towards recovery, although it is “still some way off the average quarterly figures for the last five years”. Two mega deals completed, which boosted the overall value in the North West to £8.6bn. This included The Hut Group’s £1.9bn IPO.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/north-west-ma-on-the-rise-after-sharp-drop