Business News Round Up (17/06/2021)
Equity investment in small business hits record £9bn in 2020
Equity investment in the UK small business sector hit a record £8.8bn in 2020, according to research. This investment drive into small businesses continued in the first three months of 2021, when a further £4.5bn was raised. This was the highest amount ever recorded in a single quarter, according to a report by the state-owned British Business Bank (BBB). Nearly half of last year’s total equity investment into UK smaller businesses was in the tech sector. The figures highlight the widening split in Britain’s small-business economy. Thousands of small companies struggled during the lockdown, forced to close or unable to trade fully in sectors such as hospitality, retailing and travel. Yet tech-driven businesses such as those involved in home delivery or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) boomed as people worked from home. And the average value of a UK growth stage company, defined as a business with multiple offices and substantial revenue streams, reached £100m in 2020 – up 92% year on year.
Tech job vacancies soar past pre-pandemic levels
Hiring for the digital tech sector has surged past pre-pandemic levels with 132,000 vacancies recorded in a single week in May, according to new data.Vacancies are now running at their highest level since 2016, having recovered sharply from a trough of 43,490 last June, data compiled by job search engine Adzuna and Dealroom for the Government’s Digital Economy Council found. Researchers also discovered that with the rise of remote working, there has been a strong increase in vacancies in IT and tech outside London – with Manchester and Birmingham leading the way. Since February this year, there have been consistently more than 100,000 tech job vacancies per week on the jobs site, suggesting the UK tech industry has recovered far faster than other sectors. The total weekly job vacancies for all sectors reached one million in May – levels not reached since November 2019, with tech and IT-related job vacancies now making up 12% of all open job vacancies in the UK.
Economy contracts 1.9% in the first quarter of 2021
The Chief Statistician has released statistics showing that the economy contracted by 1.9% during January to March 2021. Change in gross domestic product (GDP) is the main indicator of economic growth. Over the year, compared to the first quarter of 2020, the economy has contracted by 5.4%. During the first quarter output in the Construction sector grew by 2.6%, output in Production grew by 1.3%, and output in the Services sector contracted by 3.0%. The second estimate of GDP for the first quarter of 2021 will be available in Quarterly National Accounts Scotland, published on 4 August 2021. The first estimate of GDP for the second quarter of 2021 will be published on 15 September 2021.
https://www.gov.scot/news/economy-contracts-1-9-percent-in-the-first-quarter-of-2021/
Shortage of ‘fit for growth’ office in Liverpool and Manchester – report
Almost half of businesses across Liverpool and Manchester believe there is a shortage of appropriate city centre space to support their growth, according to new research. Polling more than 200 businesses in its Bouncing Back: North West Cities study, Brabners found that 87% intend to continue operating across both city centres post-pandemic, with 29% saying that being away from the office has had a more negative impact on their business than positive, at 24%. However, with agile or hybrid working expected to become increasingly prevalent at least half said they would consider relocating in their next lease renewal event. Andrew Waugh, real estate sector lead at Brabners, said: “There is no denying that the commercial property market has experienced a seismic shock due to the impact of Covid-19.