Business News Round Up (17/03/2026)
Equity investment in Scotland outpaces UK
Equity investment in Scotland’s smaller businesses surged in the first three quarters of 2025, significantly outpacing the UK average, according to new research from the British Business Bank. The Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets 2025/26 report found that during the first three quarters of 2025, the investment value of announced equity deals involving smaller businesses in Scotland rose by 70% compared with the same period in 2024, reaching £757 million. The increase was substantial compared with the UK-wide decline of 20% and meant that in 2025 Scotland was on track to exceed the annual equity investment value record set in 2022. Scotland’s investment growth was driven by a small number of high-value fundraisings. Across the UK, the ten largest deals accounted for 25% of total equity investment in the first three quarters of 2025, the highest share since 2020, underscoring the role of large-scale fundraisings in driving regional investment.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2026/03/equity-investment-in-scotland-outpaces-uk
North West remains hub for high growth firms despite dip in equity deals
The North West remains one of the biggest hubs in the UK for high growth enterprises, despite equity investment levels dropping across the region in 2025, according to The British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets 2025/26 report. The report found that 10% of all UK high growth enterprises were in the North West in 2024, representing the highest regional share outside London and the South East. The North as a whole made up 20% of the total UK figure. However, the resilience of new businesses has been tested across the region amid ongoing economic uncertainty. The North West recorded the second lowest five-year survival rate for new enterprises born in 2019 at 37%, slightly below the UK average of 38%. Despite this, 33,820 new businesses were created in the region in 2025, a modest 2% increase on 2024.
BDO: rising costs and funding gaps threaten Scottish mid-market growth
Mid-sized businesses in Scotland are setting their sights on growth in 2026 but are facing challenges around access to finance as cost pressures loom, according to the latest research from BDO. BDO’s bi-monthly Economic Engine survey of 500 mid-market businesses – companies with revenues between £10 million and £500m – shows that 55% identified winning new UK-based customers and contracts as one of their top growth opportunities over the next year. A similar number plan to launch new products or services to drive expansion. Investment intentions remain strong, with the majority aiming to increase their investment in the UK over the next 12 months. Despite these ambitions, Scottish businesses are facing major challenges around cost pressures and access to finance. More than half of mid-market companies (55%) cite heightened costs, including energy bills, labour and raw materials, as one of their biggest barriers to growth in the next six months.
Most UK tech firms are based outside of London
The wide majority of UK tech organisations are based outside London, shirking mainstream conclusions on the capital’s monopoly on UK tech. The Beauhurst data, commissioned by Startup Coalition and UK Tech Week, found that around two-thirds of tech firms in the UK are based outside the nation’s capital. Of the 83,000 active tech companies in the UK – employing about 3.7 million in the UK – 54,000 are based outside of London. Further analysis reveals that the average number of employees per tech company in London is 57, but is 38 outside of London, indicating a rising number of startups and early-stage firms outside of the capital.
https://www.digit.fyi/most-uk-tech-firms-are-based-outside-of-london