Business News Round Up (13/05/2022)
£100,000 inward Scottish investment fund launched
Companies based outside Scotland are being encouraged to strengthen relationships with Scottish academia through a £100,000 inward investment fund. Following on from a pilot programme at the end of 2021, a new round of funding is being offered through Interface and the Scottish Government, aimed at attracting businesses to invest in Scotland by establishing a partnership for research and development with universities. Up to five awards of £10,000 each will be awarded to successful applications in this round, with a further competitive call being launched later in the year. Earlier this year, six companies and universities were awarded £10,000 each. These included Romanian wellness company Therme Group and University of Glasgow for research into health and wellbeing intelligence to help make a business case for an inclusive Centre of Wellbeing Excellence to be established in Scotland. Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise Ivan McKee said: “Scotland was the UK’s most attractive foreign direct investment location outside London in 2021, with a 5.9% increase in projects, whilst incoming projects across Europe as a whole fell by 13%, and projects into the UK declined by 12.1%.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/100000-inward-scottish-investment-fund-26952391
UK trade deficit widens in March despite modest rise for exports as GDP growth contracts
The UK’s trade deficit widened by £14.9bn to £25.2bn in the first quarter of 2022, increasing significantly in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found. ONS figures showed only a modest rise in UK exports over the month while imports were up by almost 10%. Services fared better with the surplus increasing by £4.7bn in Q1 2022 to £37bn. The ONS continues to urge caution over interpretations of its Q1 data however, due to a change in its methodology for collecting trade data in January. Total exports of goods increased by £0.6bn (2.1%) in March 2022, driven by a £0.4bn (2.6%) increase in exports to non-EU countries, while exports to EU countries increased by £0.3bn (1.7%). Increases in exports to the EU were driven by increases in fuels but offset by decreases in other commodities such as machinery and transport equipment, and material manufactures. The increase in fuel exports was driven by oil and crude oil sales to the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Germany. The increase in exports to non-EU countries was also driven by a £0.5bn rise in fuel sales which was partially offset by decreases in machinery and transport equipment exports which were down £0.3bn.
Greater Manchester launches new leadership and management resource to help small businesses thrive
A new online resource is helping small business leaders in Greater Manchester develop leadership and management skills to unlock their potential and grow their business. Greater Manchester Leadership Hive is a free, easy-to-use resource for leaders of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that brings the best leadership and management development on offer in the region together in one place. Delivered by GC Business Growth Hub and the world-class business schools at the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Salford, and the University of Bolton, the Leadership Hive signposts SME leaders to the broad range of local and national support on offer, from executive development programmes and mentoring schemes to advice on sustainability and inclusivity. The Leadership Hive gives business leaders access to programmes that can help them grow their profits, become more innovative, boost their resilience, and improve staff retention. Its design has been informed by feedback provided by businesses.
University of Strathclyde performs strongly in Research Excellence Framework 2021
The University of Strathclyde has performed very strongly in the latest national assessment of the UK’s higher education research profile. Almost 90% of research produced by the University of Strathclyde has been rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’ in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. In a reflection of Strathclyde as ‘the place of useful learning’, the University’s impact and research environment have been recognised as particularly strong, with both quality profiles being above average for the sector. REF is the UK Government’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. Strathclyde’s 2021 performance improves on the 2014 results and demonstrates that the University has continued to build strength and quality in its research profile. The strong performance in REF 2021 relative to other institutions is reflected in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) REF ranking tables based on Grade Point Average. The University was ranked fourth in Scotland and joint 33rd in the UK, an increase of four places since 2014.