David Jones

Is a consumer spending revival on the way? PwC UK's latest #ConsumerSentiment Survey reveals a positive shift in spending intentions across nearly all categories compared to the previous quarter. The most significant improvements have been observed in grocery, holiday, and fashion. Does this match your spending habits? 📈🛍️✈️👟 Explore the findings in full: https://pwc.to/4deCmsQ #IndustryInFocus #RetailTrends

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Vertical integration, the dominant business model for telecoms, may be holding back many companies in the industry from realising their full value, according to a recent PwC research. #telecom #pwc https://lnkd.in/d4bjGF4g

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The UK Economic Outlook by PwC UK offers a detailed assessment of the current economic landscape and explores the key levers the government can utilise to spur growth and give the UK a competitive edge. Take a look at the insights here: https://lnkd.in/eFgXZWFF

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The reality is exposed. A Chancellor leading us to economic disparity! Any budget that does not deliver growth dooms our domestic economic prosperity for decades and will make Britain less competitive on the world stage! Growth is what it should have been all about to recover since the pandemic. The Conservatives failed to deliver that by being too cautious, insular and lacking any bold vision, real leadership and conviction. Labour have just delivered a massive blow to that dream too. By succumbing to their tax and spend instincts and making the state even bigger at the expense of the private sector, it will stifle individual and collective incentive for the ‘risk-reward’ equation, ‘crowding-out’ the appetite for entrepreneurial risk-taking that is the rocket fuel for economic growth. The UK is no longer an attractive place to work for hard workers! The markets will eventually speak for themselves and judge this new cabal in cabinet at Westminster harshly. #budget #economy #growth #finance

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The pressure to reinvent business models is building across all industries—and telecoms companies are in the eye of the storm. So what is to be done? Our latest telecom thought leadership explores the 'puretone' approach here: https://pwc.to/3yxl7nq

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🔍 Autumn Budget 2024: What Does It Mean For R&D? After a period of constant change, the UK Government’s recent Budget offers some stability for R&D tax reliefs. Not only are there no new changes announced, but the Corporation Tax Roadmap reaffirms ongoing support for innovation-focused tax incentives, including both R&D relief and the Patent Box regime. This commitment aims to provide much-needed certainty for innovative UK companies. The Government has also acknowledged the growing concerns around HMRC’s heightened scrutiny of R&D claims and plans to streamline the process. With new claim rules starting January 2025, understanding the nuances is crucial. Check out Caroline Hawkins' article on how the Budget has impacted R&D here: https://lnkd.in/eHp28kDh #researchanddevelopment #autumnbudget24 #labour

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The Government’s Five Missions aim to set the UK on a road to long term prosperity. To help stimulate government thinking and highlight the Civil Service’s future capabilities, #CIMA has today published a new advocacy report “Delivering the Five Missions: Business Insights for a purposeful and integrated Government”.  https://lnkd.in/e6pr-Bq9 Approaching the Five Mission strategy through the lens of management accounting principles, private sector best practices, and based on insights from prominent UK business leaders, the report highlights how the private sector would organise and operate to successfully deliver strategic priorities over the short, medium and long-term. The Five Missions in Seven Steps: 1.    Build out the strategy and develop the business plan 2.    Establish a strategy and reporting function 3.    Address the governance 4.    Take a multi-year investment outlook 5.    Assess the risk appetite 6.    Develop leadership and skills 7.    Make better decisions. This report was prepared following invaluable input from senior business leaders who were very generous with their time. It was further shaped by the views and insights of an incredible advisory group, chaired by Charles Tilley OBE. #CIMA #AICPA #CGMA #BusinessofGovernment

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Nearly one-in-five UK-listed companies issued a profit warning in past year. ➡️ EY-Parthenon report reveals that 49 profit warnings were issued by UK-listed companies in Q2 2024, the lowest quarterly total since Q2 2021 ➡️ A fifth of profit warnings in Q2 2024 were from companies in the FTSE Industrial Support Services sector ➡️Rising costs were cited by more than a quarter of businesses as a key driver behind warnings in Q2 2024 Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eaHj2jzR #BetterWorkingWorld #EYUK

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Very interesting analytics here in regard to sector demand in the North of England - showing a massive increase in H1 comparatively to last year in FS mirroring a lot of the data I have been seeing about the bounce back in the sector for this year. Interestingly public sector growth in an election year..! For further information on the current state and projections for the industry get in touch with our Solution Partners here at FORT!

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Our 2024 Equity Tracker highlights both the successes of the last ten years and the challenges facing UK venture capital markets. To highlight 3 successes (1) increasing the UK share of global VC markets, (2) amazing progress in fin-tech, and (3) more university spinouts. And the challenges (1) gaps remain in the life sciences and R&D intensive sectors, (2) the need for larger deal sizes, and (3) developing bigger clusters of venture capital across the UK.

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📊Since 2019, Net Working Capital days has increased by 9.1 days  for the most cash intensive sectors. The PwC UK Working Capital Study has revealed that whilst the majority of these sectors have seen significant increases in DSO over the last 5 years consistent with global trends, there has also been a deterioration to days inventory outstanding.  Read the study to find out more ➡️https://pwc.to/3N33aAQ #WorkingCapitalStudy

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Commenting on the Budget Statement, Stephen Phipson, Chief Executive of Make UK said: “This budget was always going to involve tough choices for business as the Chancellor grapples with the state of the nation’s finances whilst, at the same time, improving the foundations of the economy. However, there is no escaping the fact that raising Employer National Insurance contributions and, the surprising change in thresholds, at a time of other cumulative increases in employment costs will be challenging for many businesses and especially SMEs.” “However, looking at the bigger picture and, the medium to long-term, we welcome the Governments clear path to growth for manufacturing with a number of positive measures. In particular, the commitment to an Industrial Strategy, the Corporate Tax Road Map and, continued support for vital programmes such as Made Smarter, are key elements of a growth plan which will enable UK manufacturing to make significant progress over the coming years.” On Industrial Strategy, Stephen also said: “The UK has long been an outlier in not having a industrial strategy at the heart of its economy. There can be no doubt that advanced manufacturing now has a critical part to play in driving growth across all regions of the UK. The commitment to a long-term industrial strategy by this government is to be celebrated. It will deliver growth, investment and high-quality jobs.” “After the announcement of the Industry Strategy Council, Government now needs to move at pace to formalise the creation of the individual sector groups so that the formal strategy and more detailed plans can be brought forward.” #SupportUKmfg #ShoutAboutUKmfg #UKmanufacturing #UKmfg

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How did the UK venture fundraising market perform in Q1? According to Beauhurst data, there was £2.42bn in fundraisings invested across 492 deals; a mild 3.7% increase from Q1'23 but a 36% decrease from Q4'23 (by value). Last week I posted about the positive news stories in #ukvc with a few mega rounds announced, as well as ongoing interesting funding occurring at the #seed and #seriesa stage, however these statistics are a stark reminder that while there may be positive sentiment towards the #uktech sector for the longer term, we're still facing tough times. As a result, founders (and their existing investors) need to continue rigorously assessing their capital forecasts and needs, balance the conservation of cash with opportunities for growth, and double down on activities and markets that generate positive ROI in the short to medium term. As always - happy to speak to those in the ecosystem facing these challenges, or be challenged on views to the contrary! Link to report here: https://lnkd.in/ebCz-KXC #investment #startups #scaleups #seriesa #seriesb

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How can sustainability and technology leaders harness the power of data and technology to enable effective reporting and deliver their sustainability strategies?  Register your interest for PwC UK's event on Thursday 21 November to find out how: https://pwc.to/48FG1Pg #sustainability #CSRD #Technology #ESG #Data

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To ensure the success of any future industrial strategy, PwC UK believe a national conversation with business leaders and advisors on how best to prioritise the policies, partnerships and investments to unlock economic growth is critical. In order to help contribute to this debate, PwC has launched the Framework for Growth - breaking down the key areas that influence UK growth and productivity into ten key components: Thinks Insight & Strategy were commissioned to conduct a programme of in-depth interviews, with more than 60 business leaders and advisors, about the components for growth they believed would most support their business and wider sector. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eA4njfjs #FrameworkForGrowth #PwC #IndustrialStrategy 

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Seems the Staffing industry, globally, are under-investing in tech....compared to the average business. Some would be horrified by this stat, given the size of their tech stacks. Intriguing....and confronting insights from Staffing Industry Analysts Kevin O'Neill Keepin' it real at #talentx24 RCSA Australia and New Zealand #recruitment #Staffing #rcsa #wecglobal

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Seems the Staffing industry, globally, are under-investing in tech....compared to the average business. Some would be horrified by this stat, given the size of their tech stacks. Intriguing....and confronting insights from Staffing Industry Analysts Kevin O'Neill Keepin' it real at #talentx RCSA Australia and New Zealand #recruitment #Staffing #rcsa #wecglobal

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