Business News Round Up (10/03/2022)
Scottish workers are leading the UK’s hybrid working revolution
Scottish organisations and employees are embracing hybrid work more than anywhere else in the UK, according to a Virgin Media O2 Business study with the Centre for Economics and Business Research. On average, Scottish employees want to work 2.8 days a week from home – a rise of 254% compared with before the pandemic. The UK average following the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions is 2.35 days. The research has also shown that Scottish respondents are enjoying a variety of other benefits linked to hybrid working practices. On average, Scottish respondents enjoyed an additional 1.7 hours of leisure time a day when working remotely, which scaled up equals 442 hours a year or almost 20 days extra (18.4). This is offering them greater control over their work/life balance and more freedom to exercise, relax or spend time with family. The way we work is not just impacting leisure but business deliverables too. Across the UK, business leaders polled by the CEBR said that increased remote working has resulted in a 4.9% increase in customer satisfaction, a 3.6% increase in employee satisfaction and a 3.4% increase in productivity since 2020.
Northern triangle tech companies raise £1.3bn
Digital economy minister Chris Philp welcomed record investment in the ‘Northern Triangle’ tech sector which has seen 1,500 start-ups and scale-ups from Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester raise a collective £1.3bn since 2017. The figure which is the result of analysis by the UK’s Digital Economy Council identified that tech businesses in Leeds. Sheffield and Manchester raised £420m last year, 32 per cent of all venture capital flowing into the UK’s tech industry since 2017. Philip told Manchester’s Digital City Festival: “Today’s figures are a clear show of confidence in the region’s outstanding tech sector, which is generating jobs and wealth.” He added the government was committed to supporting this growth. He explained: “We know tech needs talent, investment and ideas to flourish – and we’re investing in top level AI training, skills partnerships with businesses, as well as research and development tax credits.” The research however showed the trend for investment in the regions wasn’t limited to the Northern triangle with investment in the UK’s regional cities was up 83 per cent last year. The report also identified companies including Zilico in Sheffield which is improving cervical cancer diagnostics and C-Capture in Leeds which is designing chemical processes for carbon dioxide removal to help fight climate change, as some of the beneficiaries of this growing investment outside of London.
New fintech roadmap aims to create 20,000 jobs over next decade
The national cluster organisation for financial technology (fintech) firms in Scotland has published a ground-breaking research and innovation (R&I) roadmap with the aim of boosting economic recovery, driving growth, and creating jobs over the next ten years. FinTech Scotland wants to help create an additional 20,000 plus fintech-related jobs as well as produce an increase in economic gross value add (GVA) through fintech innovation from £0.5bn GVA today to £2.1bn GVA by 2031. The industry led Fintech R&I Roadmap, the first of its kind in the UK, has been developed by the cluster body FinTech Scotland in collaboration with fintech entrepreneurs, the financial services sector, academia, regulators, government bodies and consumer groups. The cross-industry-led collaboration has resulted in four key strategic innovation themes which provide the foundation for the roadmap; these are open finance data, climate finance, financial regulation and payments and transactions. The roadmap is published on the anniversary of the HM Treasury commissioned Review of Fintech led by Ron Kalifa OBE which set out a number of recommendations, including the opportunity for research and innovation to accelerate the development of cluster excellence.
Chester hospitality amongst fastest growing for UK cities
Chester has been dubbed a leading city in the UK hospitality industry after analysis of the number of new restaurants, bars and pubs showed significant growth. The city has seen a two percent increase in the overall number of hospitality venues in the last three months of 2021 alone. This placed them sixth in a list of 14 major cities which were surveyed by Northern Restaurant & Bar (NRB), the North’s hospitality trade exhibition. Liverpool topped the list with 4.4 %, with Leeds (3.9%), Edinburgh (3.3%), Manchester (2.5%) and Newcastle (2.3%) making up the rest of the top five. With a host of high-profile new openings, including Carbonara at No 49, Artezzan, and Izakaya Lounge in Chester, Northern cities are leading the UK in terms of new openings, despite the unprecedented challenges of the past two years. The data for all of the cities ranked is based on CGA & AlixPartners Market Recovery Monitor. CGA have tracked all licensed premises in GB for over 25 years.