Business News Round Up (09/02/2024)
Economic uncertainty sparks hiring hesitation in 2024
The start of 2024 has experienced a drop in recruitment activity across Scotland, as signalled by the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs survey. Both permanent staff placements and temp billings fell sharply in January, with the latter posting the first decline in three months. Subdued levels of business activity and ongoing uncertainty around the outlook reportedly discouraged companies from taking on additional staff and made workers more hesitant to seek out new roles. At the same time, vacancies fell at marked and accelerated rates. In terms of pay, subdued demand conditions contributed to the softest rise in starting salaries for nearly three years. Meanwhile, temp wage inflation quickened, which was linked to the rising cost of living and reports of skills shortages. Scottish recruitment agencies recorded a second consecutive monthly decline in permanent placements during January. The rate of contraction moderated from December but was sharp overall.
£100 million awarded to BioTech by UK Government
The Science and Tech Secretary unveils a raft of new announcements to drive innovation in science. This will see £100 million awarded to biotech firms across the UK to help pioneer new technologies that will help prepare for pandemics, innovate farming, and protect against floods. This comes alongside a rallying cry to entrepreneurs, businesses, researchers, and government to put science and technology at the very top of the UK’s priorities or risk failing to secure long-term growth. The cash will be given to six new ‘Engineering Biology Mission Hubs’ and 22 ‘Mission Award’ projects across the country, that will look to build on Engineering Biology’s enormous potential to address global challenges, drive economic growth, and increase national resilience. It comes as the Government doubles down on its commitment support growth and innovation in science by slashing research red tape.
Bruntwood SciTech secure a significantly increased loan facility totalling £480m
Bruntwood SciTech has secured a significantly increased loan facility totalling £480m. As part of the deal, it also welcomes a new lender, Barclays, alongside the existing consortium of HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, and Santander – responsible for the initial facility, with the term of the loan having also been extended by a further three years. Bruntwood SciTech now has a three year £480m financial package to support its growth and sustainability ambitions; a £430m investment facility – of which £350m is a term loan and £80m is a revolving credit facility – and a £50m development facility. The terms of the loan are also intrinsically linked to Bruntwood SciTech’s ESG commitments and are based on improving the EPC ratings of buildings; a year-on-year reduction in carbon intensity; a reduction in embodied carbon across new build developments, and an increase in renewable energy procurement.
UK Government announces £100m to support ‘more agile’ artificial intelligence regulation
The UK government has announced £100m to support ‘more agile’ AI regulation. It comes as £10m is announced to prepare and upskill regulators to address the risks and harness the opportunities of this defining technology. The fund will help regulators develop ‘cutting-edge’ research and practical tools to monitor and address risks and opportunities in their sectors, from telecoms and healthcare to finance and education. As part of the package of measures, nearly £90m will go towards launching nine new research hubs across the UK and a partnership with the US on responsible AI. The hubs will support British AI expertise in harnessing the technology across areas including healthcare, chemistry, and mathematics. £19m will also go towards 21 projects to develop trusted and responsible AI and machine learning solutions to accelerate deployment of these technologies and drive productivity.