Business News Round Up (13/09/2024)
£3.75bn data centre announced as government moves to protect ‘critical infrastructure’
A proposed £3.75 billion investment in Europe’s largest data centre has been announced as the UK government moves to class data centres as Critical National Infrastructure. Plans have been submitted to Hertsmere Borough Council for the construction in Hertfordshire of the facility by data company DC01UK, which will directly create over 700 local jobs. Meanwhile the CNI designation for data centres is the first since 2015, when the space and defence sectors gained the same status. It means the data housed and processed in UK data centres – from photos taken on smartphones to patients’ NHS records and sensitive financial investment information – is less likely to be compromised during outages, cyber-attacks and adverse weather events. Putting data centres on an equal footing as water, energy and emergency services systems will mean the data centres sector can now expect greater government support in recovering from and anticipating critical incidents.
SME lending sees annual growth but remains below ‘normal’ pre-pandemic levels: UK Finance
UK Finance data shows that overall gross lending to SMEs was broadly stable at around £4 billion in Q2 2024, broadly similar to gross lending in Q1, but higher than a year previously when it was £3.6 billion. Growth in lending over the first half of this year varied across sectors and regions. H1 2024 saw regional lending growth strongest in the East Midlands and North West. The only region to post a decline in this period was Yorkshire and Humberside. H1 2024 lending to SMEs in agriculture, construction, and real estate noticeably increased on the previous year, whereas lending to manufacturers and SMEs in transport, storage, and communications was down. As the UK economy continues to recover from the mild recession at the end of last year, surveys indicate improving sentiment across all business sectors going into the second half of 2024.
PwC: Scottish store closure at seven-year low
Store closures in Scotland have slowed significantly, with towns and cities losing less than one shop a day on average, according to PwC. PwC’s bi-annual report, using data from location data specialist Green Street, tracks more than 200,000 chain outlets in over 3,500 locations to gain a picture of the changing landscape of high streets, shopping centres, retail parks, and other out-of-town shopping areas. During the first half of 2024 less than three stores closed each day in Scotland, with two new stores opening – resulting in net closures of less than one store per day. From 1 January to 30 June 2024, 457 stores in Scotland closed their doors, while 335 were opened – resulting in a net loss of 122 shops and outlets belonging to multiples and chains (those with five or more outlets).
https://www.scottishfinancialnews.com/articles/pwc-scottish-store-closures-at-7-year-low
£150m announced to support UK green tech breakthroughs
Over the next five years it will award at least 50 Green Future Fellows with up to £3 million each to scale their ambitious ideas into commercially viable projects capable of making a lasting, positive impact for the climate. The Royal Academy of Engineering has launched its new Green Future Fellowships, awarding £150 million over the next five years to 50 of the best ideas and scalable technologies essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for adapting to the impacts of climate change. The Green Future Fellowships will provide innovators, scientists, researchers and engineers with the funding, capacity and tailored support to transform their cutting-edge ideas and existing initiatives into scalable, commercially viable, engineering solutions to secure a greener, fairer future. At least 50 fellows (ten a year for five years) will receive up to £3 million each to develop and scale their ideas for up to a decade.
https://www.digit.fyi/green-futures-fellowship-green-tech/