Intelligent SME.tech Issue 43 | Page 9

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Percentage of small businesses investing in growth initiatives hits three-year low

The percentage of UK small businesses considering new projects to achieve business growth ( 66 %) has fallen to its lowest level since January 2021 , according to new research by Novuna Business Finance . were looking at projects to create future growth ( falling from 68 % last quarter ) – and among those predicted a flat period of zero growth , the figure also fell sharply from 63 % to 54 %.

Scaleup Finance announces US $ 8 million funding round to expand its digital CFO platform in the UK

Scaleup Finance has announced a US $ 8million (£ 6.4million ) pre-Series A round to ‘ solve the challenge of financial management ’ for startup and scale-up companies .

Led by Inveready , alongside Crowberry Capital , Seed X , PROfounders , Fin Capital and CircleRock Capital , the funds will be used to help drive continued growth in the UK and prepare for future expansion into the US . in Denmark in 2021 , Scaleup Finance expanded into the UK market in 2022 , achieving a 1,000 % growth within the year .

Co-founder and CEO , Alexander Sonne Wulff , said : “ With Scaleup Finance , founders now have a platform that automatically delivers the data and insights your stakeholders need , whilst enabling them to spend more time on building and growing their business .”

Further , the Novuna study suggests the businesses that need to improve their fortunes most urgently are the very enterprises stepping back from investing in new growth initiatives . Compared to last quarter , 57 % of businesses facing contraction said they

The latest findings are from Novuna ’ s Business Barometer study . The new study asked a nationally representative sample of 1,224 small business owners if they were considering new initiatives to power future business growth – and , if so , what they were planning to do .

Scaleup Finance enables start-ups to streamline financial planning and analysis , automate financial reporting and navigate the complexities of financial management with ease . Launched

Half of UK SMEs have lost vital data in the last five years

Almost half ( 48 %) of small- and mediumsized businesses in the UK have lost or lost access to company or customer data in the last five years , according to research from Beaming , a specialist Internet service provider for businesses .

Businesses with between 10 and 250 people have borne the brunt of data loss , which has cost UK companies more than £ 5.3 billion since 2019 . These costs include financial penalties , expenses associated with recovering data and replacing people or assets involved in incidents and lost productivity during periods in which the business could not operate as usual .

Fifty-nine percent of finance businesses , which includes financial services providers and accountants , admitted to losing data between 2019 and 2023 , more than any other sector . The most expensive data loss incidents were experienced in the manufacturing sector , where the median cost of incidents exceeded £ 60,000 .