Inevitably, the world will change once we have emerged from lockdown. With a heightened sense of hygiene and further concerns about workplace safety, employers will need to look closely at ways to reduce contact and move towards what is being touted as the Low Touch Economy. But how can this happen with as little disruption to business as possible?
New research by Accountancy and Finance, HR and Data Analytics recruiter, Wade Macdonald has found that nearly half of UK businesses outperformed their initial predictions for this year, a more assured position than many were expecting only nine months ago.
In a recent study of 2,100 UK adults, undertaken by global affiliate network, Awin, it was found that as many as one in five Britons (19%) are planning to carry out their Christmas shopping online for the first time this year.
‘Workcation’ has officially been added to the Oxford English Dictionary this year: and for good reason. Italian startup hotel booking platform, DayBreakHotels – who set up a bespoke ‘smart working’ service in the summer to open hotels up to a nation of remote workers – saw a 350% surge in bookings from business customers during the second lockdown (compared to the first lockdown), as Brits looked for a change of scene after months spent working from home.
A new survey by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) has found that brands have become more compassionate in 2020. The majority of senior marketers (74%) surveyed said their brands or clients have shown more compassion and thoughtfulness amid the pandemic – this included 14% who said this increased, with just 6% reported this happening less.
HumanForest, London’s only truly sustainable e-bike, has secured it’s target crowdfunding investment of £1.25m. The campaign is now overfunded thanks to commitments from more than 445 investors so far.
Sage has called for urgent additional government support to give small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) the confidence to invest their way to recovery in 2021.
Businesses’ biggest concern over Brexit is how new regulations will impact their trading after 1st January, a new poll revealed.
Spend on Small Business Saturday hit £1.1bn this year, exceeding the billion pound mark for the first time ever as shoppers showed support for their local high streets.
When starting a business, the implementation of a Customer Relationship Management or ‘CRM’ system may seem like an unnecessary task but committing to it from the outset will save time, cost and resources when compared to installation at a later date.
myGP, the UK’s largest independent GP booking and healthcare management app that connects patients with primary care, has announced its intention to provide the people in England with a simple, clear means of communicating their verified vaccination status, via their Smartphone.
Businesses, and indeed stock markets, hate uncertainty. Sadly, there is no doubt that 2020 has been full of uncertainty at every stage. And whilst the main focus, for very obvious reasons, has been on Covid-19 and all the trading and other ramifications that that has brought with it, it has not been the only source of major disruption this year.
PitchBook, the data provider for the private and public equity markets, has released All In: Women in the VC Ecosystem, its second annual report examining global Venture Capital (VC) investment in female-founded startups. The report, published with support from Microsoft for Startups and Beyond the Billion, shows the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted female founders and CEOs negatively, despite undeniable, long term gains in VC investment over the past decade.
It’s estimated that more than 750 million edge AI chips will be sold in 2020. Just got your head around AI? Edge AI is Artificial Intelligence-driven computing on embedded systems and the growth potential in the UK is immense. Now AeroSpace Cornwall, who is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Cornwall Council, has awarded Bluefruit Software – leaders in providing high-quality embedded software – £100k of funding for critical research and development into this mind-blowing technology, which is forecasted to expand by 20% over the next five years.
Charities from the UK and across the world are flocking to a startup social media platform which is coining itself the world’s first ‘social media for good’.
Compiled as an antidote to fast-growth lists dominated by private equity and venture capital-backed businesses, Buzzacott’s inaugural Organic Growth 25 has identified the companies achieving impressive revenue growth with minimal equity investment.
Moneyhub, the market-leading Open Banking and Open Finance data, intelligence and payments platform, is the first TPP to connect to Citibank, the consumer division of financial services multinational Citigroup. In the UK, Moneyhub offers consent-driven access to financial data via 580 live and in production connections across 200 financial services providers – of which 100 are direct UK Open Banking providers, and a further 100 more broad Open Finance providers.
Scientist and entrepreneur, Dr Harry Destecroix, has unveiled Science Creates, the deep tech ecosystem that offers specialised incubator space, a £15m investment fund and a comprehensive network of strategic partners to nurture science and engineering startups and spin-outs. The hub, in partnership with the University of Bristol and located in the heart of the city, is set to become the ‘new West Coast’, transforming disruptive discoveries through impactful commercialisation.
In the space of just two months, the UK’s data watchdog, the ICO has dished out nearly £40m in personal data breach fines to some of the country’s best-known companies – British Airways, Marriott International and Ticketmaster. Whisper it quietly but the ICO’s burst of penalty decisions, coming after significant delays, goes some way to countering mutterings that the regulator lacked the will to take on large and well-resourced opponents.
Digital insurance company, Getsafe closed a $30m Series B funding. Swiss Re’s digital platform iptiQ led the round. Existing investors, including Earlybird, CommerzVentures, btov Partners and Capnamic Ventures, also participated. Getsafe now has received a total of $53m from investors, making it one of the best-financed European insurtechs.
