As the dawn of the new year breaks, Britain finds itself amidst both real and economic turmoil. However, amidst the concerns lie glimmers of optimism regarding economic and market prospects.

Firstly, as the pandemic crisis wanes into memory, the inflation crisis that ensued is gradually receding into the background.

Secondly, despite dire predictions, the UK economy managed to sidestep a severe recession last year. While it may have skirted close to a mild recession, the exact status remains uncertain until the Office for National Statistics (ONS) releases data for the last quarter.

Thirdly, with inflation easing, household financial pressures are alleviating. Real wage growth is restoring purchasing power, likely driving an uptick in retail spending. Many households have also rebuilt their savings buffers lost during the previous year.

The stabilizing macroeconomic environment is fostering business confidence and encouraging investment for the future, as indicated by positive signs in recent business surveys.

Lower mortgage rates are expected to spur deals, benefiting the estimated 1.5 million households needing to remortgage this year.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) forecasts that the UK will maintain its position as the world’s sixth-largest economy and grow faster than France in the coming years. Additionally, India is projected to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2035.

Potential tax cuts in the upcoming Budget on March 6 and anticipated interest rate adjustments both in the UK and the US are likely to buoy the stock market. Despite the Bank of England’s cautious stance due to strong wage growth, the outlook for returns remains promising, especially given the value of domestic listed companies.

However, significant challenges persist, including the lagged effects of high interest rates on the economy and employment, the nation’s high tax burden, and historical low levels of investment, hindering growth.

Most economists predict modest growth for the year ahead, ranging from 0 to 0.7 percent. The Resolution Foundation highlights the need for a new economic strategy to reverse decades of underinvestment and capitalize on Britain’s strengths.

Suggestions include supporting high-value-added manufacturing firms, signing new service trade agreements, harnessing education for growth, and boosting productivity in second-tier cities.

Additionally, there is concern about the increasing foreign ownership of British companies, which could lead to short-term profit focus at the expense of long-term investment.

Calls for significant policy reforms, a new growth strategy, and increased government spending on research and development are growing louder. With a newly formed government possessing a fresh mandate, there is potential for real change. As the challenges of the pandemic and inflation ease and climate change becomes more pressing, now may be the opportune moment for transformative action.

The below includes some of the key takeaways from our recent report on the state of UK tech heading into 2024, the current health of the ecosystem through a venture capital, geographic and sectoral lens, with HSBC Innovation Banking.

Venture capital in the UK reached an all-time high in 2023 (if you exclude the outlier years of 2021 & 2022).

UK start-ups raised $21.3B in 2023, the third highest total on record, after just the outlier years of 2021/22. 

• VC investment has been growing again as of H2 2023.
• Investment up 46% in the second half of 2023, compared to the period Jan-Jun.
• UK remains the #3 tech ecosystem in the world, 1st in Europe.

UK remains the #3 tech ecosystem in the world, only behind the US and China.

However, on the European scene, UK start-ups raised more than 2nd and 3rd placed France and German start-ups combined.

AI and Climate tech are the UK hottest startup segments.

• Benchmark the UK ecosystem by VC investment, unicorns, new funds as well as other metrics against its European and Global counterparts here on the platform.

• Electric mobility, EV battery tech and Autonomous mobility were the top funded UK start-up segments in 2023.

• Climate tech accounted for 29% of all UK VC investment in 2023 – $6.2B, an all-time high. This represented 40% growth year on year.

• Start-ups utilising AI raised $4.5B in investment in 2023, including significant rounds for Generative AI companies Synthesia ($90M), AutogenAI ($22.3M & $39.5M) and Stability AI ($50M).

UK investors are armed with over $25B new funds raised in the last 3 years

Over $25B raised in the last three years in the UK.

Leading UK funds are freshly equipped to deploy in 2024.

The UK is the home of European venture capital with 40% of new European VC capital raised in the last five years being based in the UK.