Moore Kingston Smith sponsors TechUK’s Local Digital Index
The UK’s digital economy is built on a robust foundation of innovation, connectivity, investment, and research. TechUK’s Local Digital Index brings together detailed data and insights into the sectors, companies, and infrastructure that drive growth and technological advancement across the country. As part of our sponsorship of the Local Digital Index we developed a case study to showcase how technology businesses can enhance productivity, sustain growth, and achieve their full potential.
“We are thrilled to be working with TechUK on their Local Digital Index. We work closely with innovative Tech companies in and around the UK, supporting them to leverage opportunities and reach their full potential. The index is a fantastic tool which shines a light on regions that are leading the way and we are excited to see how their recommendations will support and grow the regional tech ecosystems.”
Ryan Day, Head of Technology, Moore Kingston Smith
Skills and talent
The Local Digital Index shows that there is a strong demand for digital skills throughout the UK, with 17% of roles advertised in Greater London being digital jobs. With the high demand and the talent pool shrinking many of our clients look to incentivisation policies outside of basic remuneration packages to attract and retain their skilled employees.
Share incentives are a powerful tool for tech startups and SMEs when it comes to attracting, retaining and motivating key talent. They effectively tie an employee’s reward to the success of the business and allow companies to offer attractive, valuable incentives without an immediate impact on cashflow. Share incentives can also offer significant tax advantages, especially where a company meets the criteria to grant Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) Options.
Share incentives should form part of a company’s strategic planning, to deliver value to employees there should be a clear vision of the company’s medium-term future. It’s also important to make sure that share incentives are “deal-proof”, so that they deliver value to employees without causing problems during a transaction process. When schemes are being implemented, tech companies should make sure that the arrangements are legally robust and should consider getting a professional valuation on their shares. As a multidisciplinary firm we are able to offer business valuations as well as legal advice and tax planning to our technology clients.
Innovation
The Local Digital Index shows that Research & Development and innovation activities are most prevalent in London, the South East, and the East of England as well as identifying new innovative hotspots. Government grants play a vital role in enabling tech companies, especially startups and small enterprises, to innovate and compete in fast-evolving industries.
UK government grants we are advising our clients on include various innovate UK programs, such as SMART grants or other tech-related targeted programs such as the £7 million AI funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Technology Missions Fund, delivered by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme. In addition, we also help our clients to access and identify European grants programs including Horizon.
Furthermore, Moore Kingston Smith has been at the forefront of R&D tax relief for a number of years, helping our clients to navigate the ever growing complexity in this area. Over the coming year, the new merged scheme, which has a radically different approach to the treatment of contracting of R&D, will come into force, for which our dedicated R&D department are assisting our clients to prepare for.
Finance and Investment
The Local Digital Index shows that access to private funding tends to be greater in southern England, particularly around London, Oxford and Cambridge, with Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Darktrace as examples.
As the Index highlights, attracting investment into the sector remains as important as ever and the use of EIS / VCT schemes to encourage those that have previously exited to become angel investors into fledging start-ups is attractive for both parties. Our downloadable guide summarises the tax benefits and key requirements of the different schemes.
Raising the right type of capital at the right time to finance a tech business’ growth is key to its success. It is important that companies have an accurate understanding of their financial needs, what they are going to use the capital for and that they match their funding needs with the right sources of capital: debt, equity or a combination of both. Our new debt advisory partner, Guy Taylor, has been active raising debt finance for tech businesses, most recently for Actica Consulting, a digital transformation specialist to the public sector.
Our lived experience as a PE backed firm means the team appreciates the importance of finding the most suitable partner for a business. It’s about matching the right VC or private equity investor with the right business. It must be a good fit. We bring that experience to our clients.
Looking ahead
With the UK government’s focus on growth, particularly through tech and digital innovation, there is a more positive outlook, despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty. AI will remain a big focus, and we would not be surprised to see a more regulatory approach to AI integration. We are interested to see the developments in renewable energy innovations, with tech playing a pivotal role in supporting the net-zero target. Cyber security remains a key risk to the sector; government support, through accessible resources on cyber security and embedding cyber security best practices from the outset could ensure that businesses are well-equipped to navigate these challenges.
Get in touch
With the rapid pace of change, aligning with the right business advisor can provide more value than ever. We at Moore Kingston Smith understand the needs of tech businesses. We are passionate about your journey and want to hear from you on how we can help.
