Business News Round Up (26/04/2021)
Record £4.5bn quarter for UK tech investment
The UK tech sector saw record investment in the first quarter of the year as economic recovery begins following a year of COVID-19. Data from Beauhurst, a database of UK’s high-growth companies, showed a record 465 deals in the sector, worth an unprecedented £4.45 billion. As the economy gets back on its feet and some semblance of certainty returns post-lockdown, the UK’s tech sectors are storming ahead. FinTech maintained its reign as the most investable start–up sector, with 82 deals completed during Q1, totalling £1.89bn – more than double the previous quarterly record of £857m in Q1 2020. Four of the five biggest deals of the quarter were secured by FinTech companies, while around 36% of all pounds invested during the quarter went to FinTechs.
Scottish family businesses among the worst hit by the pandemic
Scotland’s family businesses have been among the most impacted in the world from the pandemic, according to new research. KPMG’s Global Family Business Report questioned almost 3,000 family-owned firms around the world, including many leading companies in Scotland, exploring how Covid-19 has hit revenues and growth plans. The data shows that Scottish companies are among the most impacted, with 80% saying coronavirus has affected revenues – 11% higher than the global average. Meanwhile, UK family-owned businesses say their priority strategy throughout the restrictions has been making use of the furlough scheme. Across Europe and the Americas, most companies said their priority was adopting remote working practices, while in Asia and the Middle East the top strategy was freezing recruitment or cutting staff numbers.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-family-businesses-among-worst-23969982
North West small business confidence bounces back as economy reopens – new FSB report
Small businesses confidence in the North West is among the highest in the UK, bouncing back this quarter from a record low as the economy began to reopen, a new report has revealed. With some trading restrictions now eased, the Federation of Small Businesses’ quarterly Small Business Index (SBI) monitor showed the confidence measure for the region rising to +39 in Q1 of 2021. In Q4 2020, the reading stood at -57%, showing a “remarkable turnaround” in business sentiment as lockdown eased. The region’s confidence figure was matched by the South West and West Midlands and surpassed only by the East Midlands. It also stood higher than the UK SBI measure of +27.3. North West small firms’ investment intentions were the highest of all the UK regions, at 27% – a figure that moved into positive territory for the first time since Q2 2020. The average UK figure was 18%.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/north-west-small-business-confidence-20465226
Covid-19 crisis has caused the biggest annual employment fall for older workers since the 1980s
The Covid-19 crisis has led to the biggest annual employment fall for workers over 50 since the 1980s, according to a new report published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report A U-Shaped Crisis – supported by the Nuffield Foundation – examines the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on older workers, and how periods of unemployment can affect their prospects upon returning to work. The backdrop to the crisis has been a period of near continuous employment growth for older workers since the mid-1990s, with men over 50 experiencing only a relatively small drop in employment in the wake of the financial crisis, and employment rates among women aged 50 to 64 rising from 46 per cent in 1990 to a record high of 68 per cent on the eve of the pandemic. However, the Covid-19 crisis has created a U-shaped employment shock, with older and younger workers affected far more than those in the middle of the age distribution.