Business News Round Up (06/02/2020)
Digital sector contributes £149bn to UK economy amid tech boom
New government figures show the UK’s digital sector contributed £149 billion to the UK economy in 2018, equating to £400 million per day and accounting for 7.7% of the UK economy. Growth in the thriving tech sector was also six times larger than across the wider economy, according to new figures from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). While the digital sector grew in line with the wider UK economy until 2015, official figures show its rate of expansion has accelerated rapidly over the last five years, with investment into UK tech firms reaching an all-time high of £10.1 billion in 2019, surpassing growth in all other countries, according to data from Tech Nation and Dealroom.
https://www.cityam.com/digital-sector-contributes-149bn-to-uk-economy-amid-tech-boom/
Growth for three quarters of Greater Manchester’s digital tech businesses
72% of businesses in the Greater Manchester region have reported growth over the past year, an 18% increase from the previous year, according to new figures from Manchester Digital, the independent trade body for digital and technology businesses across the region. Despite this, there has been an increase in demand for talent, with developer roles being most in demand for the seventh year in a row. Beyond this, other skill-sets that businesses see as becoming more important over the next three years are data science (15%), UX (15%), and AI and machine learning (11%). As a result of an ongoing battle for talent, nearly a quarter of vacancies advertised by businesses over the past year couldn’t be filled, predominantly due to lack of suitable candidates and inflated salary demands.
Scottish commercial property deals top £2bn despite Q4 slowdown
Scotland’s commercial property market remained resilient despite experiencing a slowdown in the final quarter of 2019, with deals exceeding the £2 billion mark for the sixth consecutive year, according to a new report. The quarterly Scotland Snapshot report from commercial property specialists, Colliers International shows investment values slowed from a very strong £718 million in the third quarter, to £396 million in the final quarter of 2019.
British Business Investments commits £50m for Northern Powerhouse businesses
British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has announced a commitment of £50 million to Tosca Debt Capital’s (TDC) third fund (‘Fund III’), which is targeting a final close of £300 million later this year. As with Manchester-based TDC’s previous two funds, Fund III will continue to focus on funding regional businesses across a range of sectors, with a focus on those located within the Northern Powerhouse.