As we see some businesses returning to their offices, and our young people returning to school, there’s a definite focus on the future and forward planning.
Our Backing Business Ambition events left us in no doubt that there is a mass of businesses out there on the hunt for growth, confident in their future plans and looking to disrupt their own markets, and those of others. To help you on your growth journey, we’ve developed a three-part series on Planning for Growth. We focus on getting Ready to Grow Again which looks at funding and acquisition strategy.
As well as planning growth, we are living through an evolution in how we work. Meta-skills are taking centre stage and many businesses are adopting a “stackable skills” learning approach. Our The Skills City report and skills planning blog explain how you can update your strategy and win talent in an increasingly complex labour market.
Pandemic impacts are also beginning to show through. A number of mid-market deals, held back due to Brexit and then the pandemic, have finally come racing out of the blocks in the first half of 2021, driving up both deal values and volumes. It comes as no surprise that businesses with emerging and embedded ESG principles are beginning to attract a bigger buyer population and stronger bidding. Read more in our UK Mid-market Private Equity Report below.
But there are other pandemic ripples in market – our recent annual Fraud Barometer highlighted an increase in fraud as the volume of fraud cases coming through UK courts has doubled this year. Take the risk questionnaire to see how well your organisation manages fraud risk.
Beyond the pandemic, capital tax reform remains a hot topic as the Government aims to rebalance public finances. We look at how changing capital taxes may influence future strategy in the Changing Faces of Capital Taxes guide.
I hope you find this edition interesting. As always, please reach out to me or my colleagues to discuss any of the challenges you are facing.
In this edition:
- Planning for Growth: Investment and acquisition strategy
- Meta-skills and stackable skills will be key to winning war for talent
- How well does your organisation manage fraud risk?
- ‘Backing Business Ambition’: Disruption, confidence and a growth mindset
- UK Mid-Market Private Equity Report: H1 2021
- Capital taxes: beyond the pandemic
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Planning for Growth – are you ready to grow again?
Our Planning for Growth guides are designed to help you achieve sustainable success by sharing insights and practical guidance on how to navigate new challenges against the headwind of the global pandemic in post-Brexit Britain.
This Autumn, we focus on the second guide in our series, Ready to Grow Again . This step-by-step guide explains how to fund and acquire growth.
How do you find the right business to buy? How do you integrate two businesses successfully? What type of capital, resource and expertise will help secure funding?
For the answers to these questions, and practical steps to take, explore our guide and get ready to achieve your ambitions with brave thinking.
Meta-skills and stackable skills will be key to winning war for talent
Our recent Voices of Place report: The Skills City recommended that businesses recruit with a focus on meta-skills — broad capabilities that aid the development of other skills — such as critical thinking, empathy and innovation. The report also explores why it’s important to deploy a topping up approach to training, or “stackable skills” by investing in skills in a focused way via bite-sized courses.
How will your business approach skills planning?
How well does your organisation manage fraud risk?
Fraud can damage the financial health of any business, as well as its image and reputation. Our latest Fraud Barometer Annual Report identified that it is on the increase — the volume of alleged fraud cases heard in UK Courts nearly doubled in 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Professional criminals targeted the public amid COVID-19 disruption to the tune of £37 million and it is estimated that up to 5% of business revenues are lost to fraud.
Planning for fraud and taking steps to reduce its likelihood and impact on the business is crucial. To see how your organisation is managing fraud risk, take this survey to get your risk score in just a few minutes.
‘Backing Business Ambition’: Disruption, confidence and a growth mindset
Our recent ‘Backing Business Ambition’ regional event series discussed how to grow from an unrecognisable start-up to the London Stock Exchange. With great thanks to the business founders and directors who shared their experiences, we heard that confidence, structure and disruption are vital for growth, while skills and people management are currently front of mind for business leaders.
UK Mid-market Private Equity Report: H1 2021
Many pegged 2021 as the year for greater stability and increased market confidence, and the burst of transaction activity we’ve seen in H1 is a strong indicator that the bounce-back is well underway. Deals that had been put on hold in spring and summer 2020 were revived as private equity investors returned to the market with renewed appetites and plenty of cash to deploy.
Capital taxes: beyond the pandemic
Capital tax reform remains on the agenda as the Government aims to rebalance public finances. Our tax team has been looking at how private clients might be affected by changes to capital gains tax or inheritance tax (IHT), or the introduction of a wealth levy. From entrepreneurs and family businesses to landlords and investors, there are many potential impacts to consider.
Greg Limb, UK and Global Head of Family Office and Private Client, looks at the potential implications for private clients here .
Events
Scaling Business Ambition | 13 October 2021 | Register today
Join us on 13 October for the last event in our #BackingBusinessAmbition series, in partnership with Insider. We will bring together business leaders from across the UK to spark new ideas, explore practical solutions and learn from the successes and challenges from your peers and our experts.
The event will feature a mix of panel debates and one-to-one interviews on issues ranging from how best to structure growth to ensuring the business is on the right footing to scale successfully. We will also explore the growing importance and business benefits of having an authentic ESG strategy and business’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) responsibilities.
KPMG Private Enterprise: From early-stage funding advice to planning an exit, KPMG Private Enterprise (KPE) teams support privately owned businesses with their growth agendas. Our latest business insights can be found here.
If your colleagues would like to receive our updates for privately owned businesses, they can sign-up here.