Business News Round Up (14/07/2025)
Manufacturing driving growth in region’s economic and employment development
Manufacturing output in the North West grew by 10% in 2024, which represented an almost 20% increase compared with pre-pandemic levels. The Make UK/BDO Annual Regional Manufacturing Outlook report shows the importance of the manufacturing sector to the North West’s economy, accounting for 13% of the region’s total output, well above the national average. It contributes 335,000 highly skilled jobs, an addition of 3,000 jobs since 2023 and almost 10% of the region’s employment overall. The growth in performance of manufacturing in the North West has been driven by the aerospace and defence sectors which are seeing a large boost in investment, as well as the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors where the region is also especially strong. Three major sectors make up half of North West manufacturing production with the largest being the transport sector – largely aerospace – with 23.5% of industrial output in the region.
London ranked world’s second hottest tech talent hub
While the US still dominates the tech talent landscape, a new report from Colliers shows cities across the UK, China, India and Europe are catching up. London has emerged as the world’s number two tech talent hotspot, leading the UK and outpacing global rivals, according to Colliers’ latest rankings. The professional service firm’s Global Tech Markets: Top Talent Locations 2025 report, found that London came behind only San Francisco thanks to its skilled workforce, abundance of talent, strong university networks, and thriving startup culture. London leads all EMEA markets and was one of only two markets globally to achieve an overall score of 4.0 or higher out of five, earning a perfect score for its tech talent pipeline. However, London was not the only UK city to make the list, with Birmingham ranking an overall score of 2.2, performing well in VC funding and its own talent pipeline.
https://www.digit.fyi/london-ranked-worlds-second-hottest-tech-talent-hub
Automotive sector to benefit from £2.5bn government commitment – set to support thousands of jobs
UK automotive companies are set to benefit from £2.5bn from the UK Government over the next decade to support thousands of jobs and help ensure the UK remains at the forefront of zero-emission vehicle development. The government has announced the launch of DRIVE35, comprising new and improved funding competitions to support UK businesses. The programme is set to fund a wide spectrum of projects which help the transition to zero-emission vehicle manufacturing – targeting established high-volume manufacturing and multibillion-pound gigafactories, all the way to start-ups, prototypes and cutting-edge automotive innovation. The new programme was announced in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, part of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy. It will commit £2bn in funding to 2030 alongside an additional £500m for research and development to 2035.
UK’s position as a financial services leader is under threat
Four in ten (39%) senior financial professionals working in the UK say the country’s dominance in financial services has weakened in recent years, according to research by CRIF. As a result, nearly half (44%) say they no longer consider the country a global leader in financial services, with the top reasons behind this including Brexit’s impact on firms’ ability to do business globally (42%); stagnant growth of the sector in recent years (35%), staff reductions (35%), and a lack of investment in critical areas including fintech (31%). When asked which cities they considered to be the world’s top financial centres, UK-based financial services professionals still placed London second, only marginally behind New York (63% vs. 59%). However, Middle Eastern and Asian cities made up the rest of the top-ranking cities, with European cities such as Zurich, Frankfurt and Paris now behind counterparts, ranking eighth, ninth, and tenth respectively.