Business News Round Up (22/05/2020)
UK borrowing soars, retail sales plunge as Covid hits economy
Government borrowing surged to £62.1 billion to April – the highest figure for any month on record – after heavy spending in the face of coronavirus, according to new figures. It comes after the Chancellor stepped up financial support for businesses and employees after vast areas of the economy were forced to halt due to the coronavirus lockdown. The Office for National Statistics also said British retail sales fell by the most on record (18.1%) in April as much of the sector was shuttered by the government’s coronavirus lockdown.
FSB demands more help as 16k firm await support
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland said it recently spoken to spoke with public finance minister Ben Macpherson about the need to improve local authority administration of the grant schemes as thousands of businesses are being denied support. The Scottish Government has released figures showing that about £63 million grants were paid in the last week, compared to £58 million in the previous week and £138 million in the week previous to that. The latest official figures showed £741.2 million had been disbursed by councils in 64,912 awards by May 19, an average of £11,429 for each successful application. However, the data also showed councils had received 81,781 applications, or 16,869 more than have so far been awarded.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2020/05/fsb-demands-more-help-as-16k-firms-await-support/
VC firm invests £9m into North West growth companies
Chester-based, venture capital specialist, Deepbridge Capital has revealed that during the 2019/20 tax year it provided more than £9 million of investment across 27 North West businesses. Deepbridge operates a number of Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) funds which allow private investors to invest in growth-focused companies within the innovative technology and life sciences sectors. Since 2013, Deepbridge has invested more than £45 million across 63 companies in the region, with this funding currently supporting in excess of 350 jobs.
£35 million of venture capital invested into Scottish start-ups
More than £35 million of venture capital (VC) was invested into Scottish start-ups during the first quarter of 2020, ahead of the Covid-19 lockdown, according to KPMG’s latest Venture Pulse survey. The survey, using figures compiled by Pitchbook, reveal that of the 18 deals secured, 13 were in Edinburgh and the central belt and five deals in the north and north-east. Across the UK, VC investment in scale-ups in Q1 totalled £2.6 billion compared with a record £2.69 billion a year ago, with the number of deals dropping from 558 to 301 over the same period. BrewDog which completed an £8.7 million funding round from 47,000 ‘Equity Punks’ in early April, and Edinburgh whisky biofuel pioneer Celtic Renewables, which raised £8 million in February, were among the biggest recipients of outside investment.