Business News Round Up (15/10/2021)
Region’s deals market resilient with more than £1bn worth of transactions
Northern professionals have worked on more than £1bn-worth of support for the region, it has been revealed. EY’s North Strategy and Transactions teams acted on 10 completed deals worth more than £643m in the third quarter of 2021. In the North West, EY supported CPOMS Systems on its sale to Raptor, by providing integrated commercial, financial and tax vendor due diligence, and supported Esken on its rights issue and fundraising. In addition, EY acted as corporate finance advisor and provided financial and tax vendor due diligence to MPP Global Solutions, as it was acquired by Aptitude Software. In Yorkshire, the market remains very active, with EY providing transaction support to Etex as it acquired Sigmat, and to LDC in relation to its acquisition of Texecom from FTSE 100-listed technology group Halma. Additionally, the team provided transaction support to Gravity Global and Wholebake, as both secured investment from Elysian Capital.
Most investors believe Brexit will make UK more attractive place to do business
More than half of all investors from the UK, US and Germany believe Brexit, and the need therefore for the UK to secure new trade deals and support businesses, will make the overall business environment in the country more attractive over the next three years. Only one in five (22 per cent) expect it to deteriorate, according to research from investment firm MBH Corporation. Some 54 per cent of the professional investors interviewed, who collectively manage over $300bn, believe that the projected strong economic growth for the UK economy, and the increased desire for trade from countries from around the world as they come out of the Coronavirus crisis, will help to accelerate trade deals for the UK. This helps explain why 55 per cent of professional investors expect the UK to make good progress in terms of securing new trade deals around the world over the next 12 months, and this rises to 65 per cent when looking at the next three years.
Thriving start-up scene and investment credited for TravelTech boom
A thriving start-up scene coupled with strong investment in the sector is serving to boost the emerging TravelTech sector, according to a new report. TravelTech for Scotland – the cluster organisation for the industry north of the Border – has worked with Tech Nation on a new piece of analysis showing UK TravelTech companies have raised over £1bn in the last three years. The TravelTech Report 2021 shows the industry secured £358m in investment in 2020 despite the Covid pandemic, as companies found innovative new ways to deliver tourism and hospitality experiences. Half of the UK’s TravelTech companies are at the seed investment stage, showing a pipeline of high-growth-potential companies in the sector. Between 2015 and 2019, UK TravelTech companies saw equity investment more than double from £190 million to £504 million – with investor appetite for the sector remaining comparatively resilient in 2020. The UK’s TravelTech sector also outperformed the international trend during the pandemic. There were 1,044 deals completed globally in 2019 with $10.8 billion invested, which fell to $5.2 billion in 2020 (January to November). This was a 51% fall globally, while investment in the UK sector fell only 29%.
Government set to bolster supply chains by extending cabotage rights
Thousands more HGV deliveries could be made each month in the UK under government plans to help bolster the country’s supply chains by temporarily extending so-called ‘cabotage’ rights. The proposals set out in a consultation launching today (14 October 2021) mean foreign operators that come into the country laden with goods can pick up and drop off goods an unlimited number of times for 2 weeks before they return home. Currently hauliers from the EU can only make up to 2 cabotage trips within 7 days. Subject to a one-week consultation, the temporary measures would come into force towards the end of this year for up to 6 months, helping secure supply chains in the medium term alongside the wider package of measures government has put in place to address the shortage of drivers more broadly. The relaxation would apply to all types of goods but is likely to be particularly beneficial to food supply chains and goods that come via ports, by ensuring lorries from abroad coming into the UK are used more efficiently, helping to tackle the temporary global supply chain pressures brought on by the pandemic and the global economy rebounding.