November Update

As the autumn leaves fall from the trees and the air around us becomes icier, our November update comes at a time where there is a great deal of activity, with several topics top of mind. Namely – the state of the UK workforce, inflation and COP26. We have also seen the emergence of new areas of M&A resultant of the pandemic as well as some changes to the M&A procedure which have stemmed from the lockdown, impact of sickness and logistical difficulties. Despite these changes, deal flow seems to be at an all-time high with several exciting things in the pipeline here at Bluebox.

Surprisingly for many, the number of people employed in the UK rose in the month after the closure of the government’s furlough scheme with job vacancies reaching a record high. This general trend has revealed itself within our own business as we are currently recruiting for three new roles to continue on our growth trajectory. The increasing employment rate will most certainly play a large part in guiding policymakers’ interest rate decision when they meet in December. However, other factors will play heavily when deciding on how to deal with the rising inflation rates.

Another point of heated debate is the COP26 summit and whether it actually achieved anything at all. The fact that the summit resulted in a less than satisfactory deal is no surprise, however, many of the agreements made are still a step in the right direction, although can only be judged on their delivery. Rishi Sunak’s promise to turn the UK into “the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre” has been criticised by Greenpeace UK as being more of a “marketing slogan” than an actual step towards the goal of holding global warming below 1.5C. However, there is evidently money to be invested, with Q3 seeing more capital deployed than in any prior quarter. Ultimately, the financial industry, as well as private individuals, need to align their investments with the Paris Agreement climate goals and should require companies they invest in to establish and communicate a net zero plan. It has become evident that we all need to play our part in unleashing the trillions in private and public sector finance required to secure global net zero.

As we embark on the run up to Christmas, perhaps this is a good opportunity to think about how we could do our part to help limit climate change. Whether that means being less wasteful during the Christmas period by ensuring we throw away less food or gifting in a more sustainable manner, each individual action has an impact. We have decided that the gifts chosen for our secret Santa this year have to either be ethically sourced or follow the WWF’s green Christmas gift guide.

As we near the end of the year, we are excited to see what we can complete before then and we urge you to keep an eye on this space. In the mean time, keep up to date with what’s happening here at Bluebox Velocity via our blog or get updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy lead up to the Christmas period.

The Bluebox Team