Tom Hillier

Shape Scotland’s Economy: The Latest QEI Survey Is Now Live — Your Input Matters! The latest Quarterly Economic Indicator (QEI) survey is open! This is your chance to influence the key issues that affect businesses across Scotland. In the last QEI, we saw: 🔹 Cashflow challenges across most sectors, with only services and tourism reporting growth. 🔹 Investment positivity, despite retail facing difficulties. 🔹 Labour market pressure is easing slightly, but recruitment remains a struggle for 50% of businesses. 🔹 Rising concerns over taxation, now impact 55% of firms, up from 35% last year. Help shape policies supporting your business by participating in this quarter’s survey. Your voice is essential in making sure Scotland’s economy continues to thrive. Complete the survey now and make your voice heard ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e2cKnszh #TogetherWeGrow

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Vicki Sutton, CEO Wales Netball tells us how the Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator has benefited the organisation and what’s next for the sector ☝️ Read more here 👉 https://ow.ly/2cot50UeIh5

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Women’s sports organisations in Wales, including LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons will benefit from the Department for Business and Trade’s Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator scheme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿    The scheme is set to boost investment in women’s clubs and leagues 🏐🏉⚽️🏏    Find out more 👇

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🚨 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗞 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀: 𝗦𝗠𝗘 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟴💡 ⚖️ 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲: Your project’s total costs will depend on your research category and must be between £50,000 and £300,000 for feasibility studies, £100,000 and £1 million for industrial research, £250,000 and £2 million for experimental development. 🔓 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀: 20 June 2024 🔐 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀: 14 August 2024 at 11:00am Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, has selected a pool of investor partners. These investor partners have demonstrated that they have the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in innovative, technology-led businesses that align with our programmes. These programmes will focus on the future economy as described in our plan for action. The future economy investor partnership programme brings together: 1️⃣ Innovate UK’s expertise in identifying innovation and using grant funding to change the risk profile of businesses 2️⃣ investor partners’ aligned funding and expertise in identifying opportunities and teams that can best use extra investment finance Read more on the Government website via the link below👇 https://hubs.la/Q02CMSjk0 If you are looking for support with your grant application, you can book a free consultation call with one of our experts. Book using the link below 👇 https://hubs.la/Q02CMRjJ0

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How do investors assess a potential investment opportunity? 🤔 👀 Last week we were pleased to collaborate with Plug and Play UK to host an Investment Readiness Workshop at the National Propulsion Showcase. This interactive session provided start-ups with valuable insights into the VC decision-making process and highlighted the red flags investors look out for when considering potential investment opportunities. 📈 Stay tuned for more initiatives and events coming soon. #SMESupport #investmentopportunities #pnpuk #investmentmatchmaking

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#DidYouKnow in Scotland alone, over 2,100 scale-ups are leading the charge in sustainability and growth. 💪 🧑‍💻 Scale-ups make up just 1% of SMEs 👥 They account for 8% of SME employment 💼 And contribute 22% of SME turnover SMEs! At Pulsant, we’re committed to supporting these ambitious businesses with the infrastructure they need to thrive. Our sustainable practices and digital edge solutions help scale-ups grow while reducing their environmental impact. 🔗Read more at this article: https://lnkd.in/e3zzCMAR #Pulsant #ScotlandBusiness #Sustainability #Innovation

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6️⃣ ♻ Priority area number six in our manifesto focuses on the net zero transition. Did you know that small and medium sized businesses are estimated to account for around half of all UK business emissions? ERC research has shown that there is much room for improvement when it comes to the adoption of net zero practices in small firms, especially amongst the smallest firms. The evidence shows that the problem with adoption is not around intentions, but more around bandwidth, prioritisation and capability. At present the net zero business support landscape is highly fragmented, with only a small minority of firms receiving support. Access to trusted and actionable information is vital in supporting firms to implement sustainability practices, with government, professional and industry associations all playing potentially important roles. Read the full report and manifesto here - https://lnkd.in/d54EgA6n #smallbusiness #netzero #Sustainability #manifesto #research #insights #policy #enterprise #innovation #growth #productivity ESRC: Economic and Social Research Council University of Warwick - Warwick Business School Kevin Mole Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) FSB Westminster Wenta

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The UK government is launching a new Industrial Strategy designed to drive long-term, sustainable growth. The strategy focuses on eight key sectors where the UK has a competitive advantage, including: ◾ Advanced Manufacturing ◾ Clean Energy Industries ◾ Creative Industries ◾ Defence ◾ Digital & Technologies ◾ Financial Services ◾ Life Sciences ◾ Professional & Business Services This presents great future opportunities for Mid Sussex where we already have established and emerging strengths in many of these sectors including Scientific Research and Development & Life Sciences, Computer and electronic products and Financial Services all with productivity above the national level. Read the press release here: https://ow.ly/kR0750TNvtt Businesses are invited to respond to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper by 24th November: https://lnkd.in/ecqGkt7i #IndustrialStrategy #UKGrowth #InvestInTheUK #PeoplePlacePotential

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Read about the stark reality of financial exclusion and how it affects Scotland's economic potential in a @heraldscotland column by our Chair, Stephen Pearson. 👉 https://ow.ly/tnci50S6EM0 #financialinclusion

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PwCUK with GreenHouse Toolkit are finalists in the ‘Sustainability Award’ category of the MCA Awards this year. Housing accounts for 23% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. PwC's GreenHouse Toolkit, using machine learning and building physics, assesses energy-saving measures for the UK's 29 million homes. This tool optimizes retrofitting investments, reduces carbon emissions, and supports both government and private sector sustainability initiatives. Read more about the case study and its findings here: https://ow.ly/If2I50StQit #MCAAwards #managementconsulting #ConsultingExcellence

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Super interesting, and also timely for our upcoming The Good Economy Place-based Impacting Investing Natural Capital roundtable, where we will be unpacking the social and economic outcomes of investing in Natural Capital, for people and places, as well as exploring business models that work for and with nature and people. #nature #placebased #naturalcapital #biodiversity #embeddedeconomy

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Companies have a vital role to play in mitigating biodiversity risk. In this video, Jordan Patel, of Federated Hermes Limited, explains why biodiversity champions are the businesses with the greatest capacity to benefit from pro-biodiversity regulation and the demand for sustainable products. #NaturalCapital #Biodiversity #PensionsforPurpose https://ow.ly/ioCF50R3oZs

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Companies at Norwich Research Park that are start-ups, spin-outs or scale-ups, focused on solutions for tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, will now have access to specialist funding to help them develop and commercialise their propositions! Specialist climate and impact investor Greensphere Capital LLP has launched the Gaia Sciences Innovation partnership with funding of £75m raised, closed and available to invest in world-leading #businesses to emerge from a group of globally-renowned #bioscience and environmental science institutes based in the UK. The full fund is expected to close at £100m in Q1 of 2025. Read more: https://bit.ly/4hZsqGq #Investment #Startups #Spinouts #ScienceParks #NorwichEnterprise

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Sowing the seeds for Green Tech growth🌱 Are UK climate policies boosting investment opportunities? The UK’s ambitious climate policies are nurturing a fertile landscape for green tech start-ups, helping them grow and attract major VC investment. From renewable energy to sustainable urban development, the opportunities are blossoming for start-ups ready to tackle the climate crisis. 🌿 Check out our latest blog to see how government support, market demand, and policy stability are cultivating the future of green tech funding. Read here🔗 https://buff.ly/4gXOLnn #GreenTech #VCFunding #ClimateAction #Sustainability #Innovation #NetZero #UKStartups #Investment

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🌍At P1, our commitment to environmental responsibility is at the core of everything we do. That's why we're pleased to hear that plans for the UK's first coal mine in 30 years have been halted.🌟 Dr. Quintin Rayer, our head of research and ethical investing, has long asserted the view that coal mining represents a significant backward step for climate progress, threatening the UK's ability to achieve net-zero and undermining our credibility as a leader in the low-carbon economy. In his 2021 article, linked below, he stated that 'the economic inconvenience of forgoing coal extraction will prove insignificant compared with the climate change consequences'. As we continue to champion sustainable and ethical investing, we believe that true progress comes from forward-thinking solutions. Our ethical portfolios and the TM P1 Sustainable World Fund are committed to tackling climate change with dedicated holding of renewable energy and a fossil divestment policy. If you want to invest ethically, contact Jonathan Richards to learn more.

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