KPMG UK Tech Monitor Index

Political uncertainty and global trade frictions have dented client confidence, but buoyant staff hiring and capital spending plans are still in place for 2019, according to a new quarterly survey of UK technology sector companies by KPMG.

Intertrust, a global leader in providing expert administrative services to clients operating and investing in the international business environment, interviewed private equity professionals across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia to identify the value-add delivered by new technologies now and in the future.

• Over half (53%) of respondents to the survey believe financial services creates the most potential for value creation through technological innovation, ahead of healthcare (18%), consumer (8%), energy (8%), industrials (8%) and TMT (5%).
• More than half (51%) identified the biggest technology risk when assessing target companies as cybersecurity or data breaches

Accelerators are a vital part of the UK’s early-stage company ecosystem, going from strength-to-strength in the last few years. Beauhurst has analysed this network of programmes, and the companies that have been through them, to identify trends and future movements in the accelerator ecosystem. 

he latest Companies House data, as analysed by the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE), shows that business formations recovered from a drop in 2017 to reach a record 663,272 in 2018.

“It is encouraging to see formation numbers recover and hit a new high,” says Matt Smith, director of the Centre for Entrepreneurs. “These figures demonstrate the resilience and confidence of entrepreneurs across the country, confirmed by a 5.7% increase of business registrations and the strengthening of London as Europe’s leading startup hub.”

eFront, the leading financial software and solutions provider dedicated to Alternative Investments, has published its latest Quarterly Private Equity Performance report, showing that venture capital funds globally currently offer a highly attractive risk-return profile, with Western European funds significantly outperforming the historical average.

Key findings

• Performance, risk and holding periods of global venture capital funds have both fallen over the last two quarters, hinting at a wave of new investments.
• Risk-adjusted performance, however, has improved markedly, with risk levels returning to pre-2013 levels and returns remaining above 1.4x.
• Western European venture capital funds are setting a “new normal” for returns, with performance consistently higher than the historical average and convergence with US performance on the horizon. Performance is led by the extremely strong 2009 and 2010 vintage years, while 2011-15 funds are also performing well.
• The picture of US venture funds is increasingly contrasted, with vintage years 2009 and 2011 underperforming, while 2010, 2012 and 2015 significantly outperform.
• The average number of years companies are held in portfolios dropped sharply in 2018.

Analysts, accountants and digital marketing specialists top a list of in-demand roles in 2019, as employers focus on navigating an increasingly digitalised business landscape and a shortage of key skills among the UK workforce, reveals Robert Half UK.

The research, conducted among 200 intermediaries by Foresight Group LLP, a leading independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager, reveals that three-quarters (75%) expect to see more infrastructure funds recommended to clients.

UK infrastructure’s rapid transition from a niche to an increasingly mainstream asset class has been underlined by a new study, which reveals that over six-in-ten (62%) financial advisers are looking to increase their clients’ allocation to infrastructure over the next three years, a dramatic increase from 32% last year.

Healthcare venture investment in the U.S. and Europe reached a new high in 2018, according to Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world’s most innovative companies and their investors. Investment totals in 2018 grew more than 50 percent over 2017, with the activity due in large part to record Series A investments in U.S. biopharma companies.

New research from eFront shows an inverse correlation between the pace of capital deployment and fund performance.  

Limited partners in private equity funds should be wary of putting managers under pressure to deploy capital – that is the conclusion of new research published by eFront, the world’s leading alternative investment management software and solutions provider.

eFront’s research shows that there is an inverse correlation between the level of capital deployed during the first year of a fund’s investment period, and its eventual performance.

The economic contribution of the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford Growth Corridor to the UK’s post-Brexit economy could reach £400billion by 2050, Bidwells’ latest research reveals.

But delivery of a planned Expressway Road and a re-opened Varsity Line linking the region’s economic centres is essential to maintain the impressive growth seen in the Corridor since 2013.

The Corridor’s economy would grow to £400billion if it continues expanding at the pace of recent years. The Corridor’s Gross Value Added (GVA) will surpass £300billion by 2050, even if the region’s growth slowed below the long-term average rates seen since 1998.

Patrick McMahon, Bidwells Senior Partner, said: “The Growth Corridor is the UK’s next Economic Powerhouse. This knowledge-intensive region is already big on ideas but is set to become much bigger in economic value too.

European governments intervene in almost half of all venture capital investments for entrepreneurs, according to new research from emlyon business school.

New research by The Recruit Venture Group has uncovered the truths behind being a business owner including:

• Being made redundant or losing their job are top reasons people start their own company
• Raising capital is the main challenge that people face when setting up a company
• 1 in 10 entrepreneurs faced challenges with mental health, including self-confidence and anxiety whilst starting up their company
• Only 1% of business owners regret setting up

A survey of 1,500 UK business owners and employees has revealed that a third of business owners never planned on starting their own company, but 75% of them now believe they are in their dream job, compared to only 13% of employees being in theirs.