Business News Round Up (26/01/2026)
Scots Gov announces £2.5m support package for Entrepreneurs
The Scottish Government has unveiled a £2.5 million package to nurture more young entrepreneurs as part of a £45 million investment to drive innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship across Scotland in 2026-27. There will be further funding for the Scottish Government’s Techscaler programme, which has over 1,900 members across more than 1,400 startup and scaleup businesses. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes visited Galashiels to meet business founders who have been helped South of Scotland Enterprise’s Pathways Pre-Start programme. The pilot programme is now in a second phase following a pilot in 2024-25 and has so far delivered specialist coaching to over 700 existing or prospective business founders, leading to – according to the Scottish Government – over 220 new businesses being created.
https://www.digit.fyi/scottish-startup-funding
UK businesses and consumers show signs of recovery as budget worries recede
Britain’s economy has shown signs of picking up since finance minister Rachel Reeves’ annual budget statement in November, following months of uncertainty for employers and households. Surveys published last week indicated that businesses had their best month in January since before Keir Starmer became prime minister in July 2024, while consumer confidence reached its highest since August that year. Retail sales volumes rose in December at the fastest annual pace since April, according to official data. However, the labour market remains weak – partly due to a payroll tax increase introduced by Reeves last year – and Britain still has the highest inflation among Group of Seven rich economies. Following are graphics summarising the state of the world’s sixth-biggest economy.
Scotland sees steepest fall in advertised jobs
Competition for jobs is at its highest in more than four years with Scotland recording the steepest month-on-month decline in vacancies in December, falling 8.36% compared with November. Across the UK there are now 2.3 jobseekers vying for every advertised vacancy. North East England was the only area to see the number of roles increase, up 1.09%. The overall decline was the sixth consecutive monthly fall, according to the latest figures from job matching platform Adzuna. High inflation, economic uncertainty and the rising use of AI continue to impact hiring activity. Adzuna data shows vacancies in December fell 3.84% month-on-month to 716,791 jobs and 15.09% below December 2024’s levels. This represented the lowest average vacancy levels of any full year since 2020, making it one of the worst years for jobseekers since the COVID-19 pandemic.
AI sparks entrepreneurial boom – Travel Counsellors’ research
New research shows that AI is fostering a wave of entrepreneurship in the UK – especially among younger people, according to a study conducted by private equity-backed travel franchise company Travel Counsellors. More than 2,000 UK adult workers were surveyed in research which found that 53% have considered becoming an entrepreneur, rising to 69% of Gen Zs and Millennials. These trends are also reflected in Travel Counsellors’ own data, with enquiries from potential franchisees up 82% year-on-year as of December 2025, highlighting the growing appeal of tech-enabled entrepreneurship. The research suggests AI is fuelling a new generation of entrepreneurs, with 36% of 25–34-year-olds and 32% of 16–24-year-olds saying they feel more empowered to start their own business due to AI. Positive attitudes towards AI are underlined by the fact that 37% of UK workers say that the technology enhances their current job role, growing to 51% of 25–34-year-olds.