Business News Round Up (26/03/2024)
82% of Scottish business leaders concerned over tax divergence with rest of UK
New figures published by the Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland show the state of play for Scottish businesses in 2024. The annual IoD ‘State of the Nation Directors Survey’ asked cross-sector leaders from businesses of all sizes for their current position on a range of issues facing Scottish firms. The 2024 survey has highlighted new concerns for leaders over the additional tax band announced at the Scottish budget in December 2023. The introduction of a sixth tax bracket, compared to the rest of the UK’s three, means those earning over £75k annually will be taxed at a rate of 45% as of 6 April 2024. Of the 82% who expressed concern over this further divergence with the UK, 39% noted that staff recruitment was likely to be impacted the most; 34% said employee’s choice of location would be a concern, and 27% are worried about the impact on inward investment.
Hydrogen startups in the North West to receive £1.5m
Sustainable Ventures has partnered with independent technology innovation catalyst CPI in a government-backed effort to deliver £1.5 million of private investment to hydrogen startups in the North West of England. With plans to “transform Manchester into a European hydrogen hub,” its accelerator anticipates £5 million in commercial contracts for startups in the region. In keeping with the UK’s commitment to Net Zero by 2050, hydrogen startups have been identified by the government as a key sector, with a forecasted £11 billion invested across the UK by 2030. Sustainable Venture has supported more than 500 climate tech startups and worked with numerous government-backed bodies and local authorities, including the Greater London Authority, The Carbon Trust, and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The programme — commissioned by the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative consortium — will take place over 12 to 18 months.
Falling confidence puts £450bn of UK North Sea growth at risk, report warns
Falling confidence in the UK’s business environment could put £450 billion of North Sea economic growth by 2040 at risk, new research from Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) has warned. The body’s 2024 Business and Supply Chain Outlook report calls for policymakers to make the UK’s energy sector an attractive place to invest. OEUK market intelligence manager and Business Outlook report author Ross Dornan told Energy Voice: “We have an exciting opportunity in front of us, to grow our energy supply, grow jobs and cut emissions. We’ve got the people and the companies to do it, but we need the investment to make it happen.” With the UK moving towards a general election, OEUK warned that unstable energy sector policies undermined confidence in the stability of the UK’s energy sector. The UK is increasingly competing against European countries and the US to attract international investment in its energy sector.
Investment in Scottish firms almost halves to £359m during 2023
A KPMG report has revealed that 115 Scottish companies received over £359 million in venture capital (VC) funding in 2023 – almost half the 2022 total. The Venture Pulse Survey shows this is a marked a decline from record levels seen in 2022 and 2021, which were £707m and £628m for Scottish scale up respectively. In Q4 2023, 45 deals worth over £71m were recorded, mainly centred around Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee. Notable deals included £31m for alternative meat start-up ENOUGH, £2.6m for neuromotor assessment firm Manus Neurodynamica, and £7.69m for fintech company DirectID. Graeme Williams, head of corporate finance M&A for Scotland at KPMG UK, said: “It is fair to say that figures for 2023 have revealed a slowdown, especially when compared to the record breaking results of the previous two years.