Business News Round Up (18/03/2021)

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UK businesses look for international trading opportunities post-Brexit

Britain’s vaccine rollout has triggered a wave of optimism among businesses as they look to new growth opportunities after the pandemic, but Brexit concerns still linger.Business confidence is now at its highest level since the summer of 2018 as the government steps up its efforts to vaccinate the adult population by the summer. While the pandemic remains the main source of negative impact on business performance over the next 12 months the vaccine rollout is touted as the biggest growth driver. More than three fifths of businesses are confident about their growth over the next three months, according to Santander’s latest trade barometer. It is the first survey since the UK’s departure from the EU and while Brexit concerns have fallen to their lowest ever level, 38 per cent of firms say the deal will make trade with the EU more time consuming. 

£78m investment to create global research hub in Scotland

More than 500 jobs are set to be created in Scotland through the launch of a new global health research, development, and manufacturing hub.Life sciences firm LumiraDx will lead the development of the hub and has announced a £78 million investment in its current Scottish operations.Supported by a £15 million grant from Scottish Enterprise, the posts will be located at sites across Stirling, Inverness, and a new facility currently under construction at Eurocentral, near Glasgow.LumiraDx has over 1,200 global employees with operations in Scotland, England, USA, most European countries, Japan, South Africa, and Latin America.

UK sees record tech investment in 2020

Despite Covid-19 and the uncertainty of Brexit, investment into tech companies in the UK was at record levels last year, the proportion of foreign investment rose, IPOs gathered pace and seven new companies made unicorn status. There could be challenges ahead though — the country’s R&D capabilities trail other countries and investment is increasingly concentrated in the capital alone.  “This year has highlighted the UK tech sector’s enormous resilience and world-beating innovative spirit,” says Gerard Grech, chief executive of Tech Nation, which compiled the new data.  “In the face of a major global crisis, it has not only survived; in many areas, it has boomed.” VC investment into the country reached $15bn last year, $200m more than in 2019. Investment gathered pace throughout the year, peaking in December at $1.9bn.

https://sifted.eu/articles/uk-record-tech-investment-2020/

UK Research and Innovation pledges £31 million for Scotland’s ‘green revolution’

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has awarded more than £31m of funding to Scotland to support a £62m programme aimed at creating new jobs and reducing the country’s industrial carbon footprint. Scotland’s Net Zero Infrastructure (SNZI) programme involves developing offshore and onshore resources to store carbon and produce low-carbon hydrogen as a more environmentally friendly energy source. Work will focus on the Acorn carbon capture and storage project at St Fergus Gas Terminal, near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, as well as exploring how to transport carbon dioxide to the new storage facilities from industries in the Central Belt of Scotland. SNZI initiatives should result in developments worth over £3bn for the region, creating and securing tens of thousands of jobs by 2050, and helping Scotland shift from its reliance on fossil fuels to ‘greener’ forms of energy.

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/uk-research-innovation-pledges-31-23744746