Business News Round Up (26/04/2022)
CityFibre claims £38 billion of UK economic growth from fibre rollout
UK fibre builder CityFibre commissioned some research that ‘identified over £38 billion in potential economic benefits’ thanks to its full fibre rollout to 285 UK cities, towns, and villages.Consultancy Hatch put together the report on behalf of CityFibre, and it claims the potential economic impact over a 15 year period includes £22 billion in productivity benefits, £4.8 billion from a widened workforce, and £1.2 billion from flexible working and the creation of 16,000 jobs. The assertion is that the faster connectivity boosts business productivity, innovation, turnover, and can contribute to the creation of new companies and business models. More ubiquitous fibre is also useful in supporting the cultural shift to homeworking, something that would certainly be more of a pain without a decent reliable home connection. The report also claims that on top of the listed economic benefits, CityFibre’s infrastructure will help unlock £53bn in GVA from 5G services, £16bn from the Internet of Things and £9.3bn from Smart City initiatives in the future.
New barometer reading shows SMEs focused on growth
The latest small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) “barometer” report from business adviser Azets has revealed ambitious growth plans among firms. This is despite a significant drop in optimism about the economy. The survey revealed 51% of all SMEs across the UK and Nordic countries are optimistic about the economic outlook, down from 68% last summer. UK SMEs were the least positive, with 40% expecting the economic climate to worsen. Despite concerns over the economy, 62% of all SMEs expect their turnover to increase during the next year and 53% anticipate their profits will improve. Soaring cost inflation is the biggest day-to-day challenge facing the SME community, alongside serious recruitment problems, the survey found. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of SMEs are unable to recruit people with the right skills. Covid, cost inflation and employee wellbeing were also highlighted as key challenges.
Circularity Capital claims record circular economy fund
Circularity Capital, an Edinburgh-based asset manager, claims it has raised the world’s largest specialist circular economy private equity fund. The fund manager said its Circularity European Growth Fund II was oversubscribed as its closed at €215m (£181m). It attracted “blue-chip institutional investors” including pension funds, insurance companies and family offices across Europe, the UK and North America, and fund of funds money. It added that the fund would continue Circularity Capital’s dedicated strategy of investing in circular economy growth-stage businesses in Europe. Circularity Capital, based in Charlotte Square, said it had so far made eight investments from its first fund, which closed at £60m, and two investments from its second vehicle. Investee companies include ZigZag, a SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform for eliminating retail returns wastage, sold by Circularity to New York Stock Exchange-listed Global Blue in March 2021. Circularity Capital was founded in 2015. Its founder partners include Ian Nolan, who spent 25 years at investment capital group 3i, and David Mowat, who has spent more than 20 years working in senior positions within venture capital and private equity.
Northcoders revenue doubles in first annual results since IPO
Northcoders – one of the UK’s leading independent providers of training programmes for software coding – has reported its maiden annual results as a listed business. The Manchester-headquartered company reported a 124% increase in revenue to £3 million in the 12 months ended 31st December 2021. The firm, which listed on the AIM growth segment of the London Stock Exchange in July last year, reported an increase in gross profit to £2.2m (FY20: £900,000) while adjusted EBITDA increased to £400,000 from a £300,000 loss in 2020. Northcoders recently revealed plans to open a new training hub in Birmingham city centre that will deliver the company’s range of bootcamp courses across the Midlands. Founded in 2015, it already operates hubs in Manchester, Leeds, and Newcastle, while there are plans to open a facility at Grimsby Town’s stadium later this year. Since its inaugural course in 2015, Northcoders has helped over 1,000 people switch careers into tech, with average starting salaries of £25,500. Its hiring partners now number 315, including new businesses such as NHS Digital, PrettyLittleThing, Informa, AND Digital Limited, Wren Kitchens Limited and Sky Betting & Gaming.