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03
Apr
2018

Startup Funding - Equity Investment

by B&F services Administrator
Category Start a new business

Investopedia defines a startup as a young company that is just beginning to develop. They come in multiple shades are usually small but are financed and operated by a handful of founders or one individual. Some of the key issues founders face would be in financing their startups. Advisedly, the best option is bootstrapping at the initial stages of the business by either using personal funds, funding from friends and family or other sources of grants. This ensures there would be minimal, or none of the costs usually associated with external funding.

However, when a startup is past its prototyping phase, which we would define as venture or ready to trade (versus seed or early startup) its founders would need to carefully consider how best to secure capital. The British Business Bank recommends equity investment is crucial to the growth and upscaling of a business. For example, nascent fast-growing fintech app, Revolut received £50 million funding in July 2017 from London VC Index Ventures.

Equity financing options have become more diversified as business owners seek tailored solutions suited to their specific business and revenue models. While investors are looking for better ways to guarantee returns and reduce the risks associated with venture funding. Moreover, a business could become profitable and buy back ownership, which may eliminate the concerns founders have regarding equity funding.

06
Feb
2018

High Growth Businesses

by B&F services Administrator
Category Market Research

High-growth firms are defined by the OECD as those with ten or more employees that have recorded average annual growth rates of 20 % or more (in employment or sales) over a three-year period. Another similar measure, used by Eurostat, sets the threshold growth rate at 10 %.

The past 20 years have seen a myriad of global, economic, political and social uncertainties affect the UK. They include the bursting of the dotcom bubble, the 2008 financial crisis and most recently, Britain’s decision to leave the EU. Yet, these macro challenges have not interrupted the growth of several high growth companies in the UK. SMEs make up 99.9% of all businesses, at least 24% of them employ one or more other staff, with five percent classed as high-growth.

In the UK, all sectors have a share of their high growth businesses, with a total of 12,000 across all regions of the country. In fact, the North East has the highest proportion of high-growth enterprises of all regions, relative to the total number of businesses. Although, high-growth enterprises are also concentrated in London and the South East, taking into account the size of the local adult and business populations reduces the degree of concentration.

Using the higher threshold of 20 per cent, the UK had 12,495 high-growth enterprises in 2013, equivalent to just over 5 per cent of the business population with more than 10 employees, and just 0.2 per cent of the total business population (ONS 2015a and BEIS 2016a). Utilising the lower growth threshold, the UK had 23,685 high-growth enterprises in 2013, employing 2.6 million people. Separating this out into the economy’s three main sector categories – production, services and construction –suggests that high-growth businesses are relatively well-distributed across types of economic activity: 13 per cent of businesses in production are high-growth, 12 per cent of services businesses and 11 per cent of construction firms (OECD 2016).

06
Feb
2018

The Benefits of 3D to Business

by B&F services Administrator
Category Market Research

With advances in technology has come a growth in the utilisation of 3 dimensional service applications. These applications have become increasingly beneficial for use within business, aiding the streamlining of the sales and marketing process. Such solutions would include the implementation of in-store or web based configuration platforms that allow consumers to design products to their specifications. 3D has additionally increasingly been utilised in the marketing sector for the purpose of more engaging and high quality advertisements. Some of the benefits a business would encounter through the adoption of 3D facilities into their business would include:

06
Feb
2018

Asset Management Industry

by B&F services Administrator
Category Market Research

As reported by the FCA, as of November 2016, there was 1,840 asset management firms authorised within the vicinity of the UK. Within this sector in the UK there is around £6.9 trillion of assets under management (AUM). The retail sector accounts for around £1tn of these assets and around £3tn of this is managed on behalf of pension funds and various other institutional investors, such as hedge funds, REITs, and insurance companies. It can be estimated that the final sum of around £2.7tn managed within the UK is on behalf of overseas clients.

Within the UK it is now seen that the large majority of adults have assets under management in one form or another. With pension schemes now a legal requirement for businesses to offer employees, it is now found that over three-quarters of adults within the UK today have some form of occupational or private pension fund. In addition to this, it has been evidenced through FCA statistics, around 14% of adults within the UK also hold stocks and shares ISA’s.

Unlike some market sectors, the asset management sector is not overly concentrated. The top 10 managing companies within the UK, although taking majorityshare, account for around 47% of the total market share. These top 10 consist of companies such as Black Rock, Standard Life Investments, M&G, and many more as listed within the bar chart below.