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Industry-leading business support provider, BizSmart®, has scooped a double award win at the prestigious International Business Brilliance Awards.   

Established by BOC Global Events and Training Group, the International Business Brilliance Awards are dedicated to recognising businesses that provide brilliance in leadership across 13 different categories. 

Hosted on 1st December 2022, in Kensington, London, BizSmart® and its Founder and Managing Director, Kevin Brent, walked away victorious having been selected as the winner of UK Business of the Year and Business Leader of the Year, marking an impressive achievement for the fast-growing support provider. 

Kevin Brent, Founder of BizSmart®, confirmed: ‘We are absolutely delighted by the results at the International Brilliance Awards. To walk away with a double win is just an amazing achievement and echoes the hard work of our dedicated team.  

2022 has been a significant year for BizSmart®, it marks our 10th year in business, the continued growth of our franchise model, and the launch of my book, The Entrepreneurial Scale Up System. 

To be recognised as the Business of the Year and Business Leader of the Year is an unbelievable feeling and is the ‘icing on the cake’ of what has been a fantastic year. The night was spectacular, and it was great to hear from and receive the award, from the inspirational Anna Hemmings, six-time world champion, two-time Olympian and gold medallist in marathon kayaking.  

I am very proud of all that we have achieved, and I’d like to say thank you to my team for their hard work over the last 12 months.’ 

Founded in 2012, BizSmart® is renowned for bringing like-minded business leaders together via peer-to-peer learning and engagement and has built a reputation as the support provider of choice.  

In 2020, BizSmart® launched its franchise model to give proven professionals the opportunity to build and establish their own business support offering under the BizSmart® umbrella.  

Dacke Industri continues to grow with its acquisition of Fogmaker International AB, one of the leading global suppliers of fire suppression systems for engine compartments. This acquisition aligns with our ambition to grow and develop with companies focusing on their own products and customized components and systems. Dacke Industri has the 1st of December, completed the acquisition of 70 % of the shares in Fogmaker International AB. The current management and owner will remain as owners with 30% of the shares. 

Fogmaker develops, manufactures, and markets fire suppression systems for engine compartments with high-pressure water mist. It has its headquarters as well as R&D and manufacturing facility located in Växjö with 100 employees and an annual turnover of more than SEK 300 million. Fogmaker’s fire suppression system first saw the light of day in 1995. Today, approximately 280,000 vehicles are equipped with Fogmaker’s high-pressure water mist systems in more than 50 countries. They have a global network for service/ installations via partners who are certified according to Fogmaker Training Academy program. 

Fogmaker is a leader in safety awareness with roots in Småland, Sweden, and delivers safety products worldwide within sectors such as Bus, Mining, Material Handling, Forestry, Trucks, Construction Equipment, Agriculture and Airport. 

“As Fogmaker’s owner and CEO, for the last 22 years, I have been part of an incredible journey. Starting as a small struggling business with a product I strongly believed in, we have today grown to a large and successful international player, and we continue to expand our markets. I have reached a point where I want to devote my time to other ventures and leave Fogmaker in the best of hands. I have carefully chosen the right buyer for Fogmaker. Dacke Industri will stand for long-term commitment, competence, and add an important and valuable international network to the business. I see a continuously bright future for Fogmaker.

I have, together with Dacke Industri, proposed our CMO Lars Alrutz as new CEO from January 1st, 2023.
He is experienced and has contributed greatly to our growth,” says Andreas Svensson, CEO of Fogmaker International AB.

“As proposed CEO, I am looking forward to further developing the Fogmaker business and continuing to support our values,” says Lars Alrutz.

“With Fogmaker as our new partner, we significantly strengthen the safety awareness and the technical safety solutions globally at Dacke Industri. Fogmaker has a solid market position, and together we will create more opportunities and potential for growth ahead.” Says Lars Fredin, Group CEO of Dacke Industri.

This is Dacke Industri

Dacke Industri is a long-term owner that invests in innovative technology companies within selected niches with potential for development. We provide expertise and strategic guidance to build sustainable companies over time.

We follow a decentralized model where our companies have a high degree of autonomy and are run independently. 

Our companies have their own products or systems with a strong technical focus, development- and design expertise, and quality execution. The companies use existing platforms for innovation and work towards environmentally sustainable products and production.

A comment by Markus W. Voigt, CEO of aream Group.

It is a federal government with green participation that is proving to be the biggest brake on the expansion of renewable energies. Regardless of the area, a lot has been announced, but almost nothing has been specified. This creates uncertainty in an industry that would like to invest but needs a clear framework to do so. And the German government has failed to provide this framework.

When it took office, it was already communicated that obstacles to the expansion of renewable energies should now be quickly removed. The Easter package at least indicated where action should be taken. But little has happened since then. Permit times have barely changed, the amount of bureaucracy has not been reduced, and there has been no push for renewables.

The pattern repeated itself in the discussion about skimming off excess or windfall profits. The industry was ready to go along with this, hoping for quick and clear rules like in Spain. And they were disappointed once again. The negotiation process dragged on until the very end, and although the draft law has been approved by the cabinet, nothing is clear yet. How and when which windfall profits will be skimmed off remains an open question.

Yet the mood in the renewables sector is one of great optimism. The companies want to reinvest the profits generated and would thus also ensure a rapid and smooth transformation of the energy supply. But without clear framework conditions, their pockets will remain closed, or at least only be opened half as wide as would be possible.

There, the high price of electricity is a better incentive than the entire policy. And: The expansion of supply will lead to a significant reduction in energy costs in Germany in the future! In light of the high prices, more and more companies are also investing in their own wind or solar farms, as well as in storage systems. Many companies are following their target paths to climate neutrality – regardless of progress and setbacks in politics. After all, it’s not just the absolute cost to companies of generating their own electricity that matters. It’s about predictability and clarity.

It is regrettable that politics cannot set a predictable and clear framework. When, if not now, is the optimal time to drive large-scale renewables expansion? But the governing parties are obviously not managing to get their way within an encrusted bureaucracy, no matter how good the will may be at the federal level. The fact that the impetus of the market via high electricity prices triggers more than the good will of the traffic light coalition should give those in power food for thought. Or maybe not, because if the market already regulates it, maybe the state doesn’t want to make any more effort?

WTTC and Saudi-Based Sustainable Global Tourism Center launch inaugural Environmental & Social Research

Between 2010 and 2019 the sector’s GDP has grown on average 4.3% annually whilst its climate footprint increased by just 2.4%

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has today unveiled groundbreaking new data detailing the climate footprint of the global Travel & Tourism sector.

The findings were launched today at the global tourism body’s 22nd Global Summit in Riyadh by the World Travel & Tourism Council and the Saudi-based Sustainable Global Tourism Center.

In a world-first, this comprehensive research covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with the latest figures.

During her opening speech Julia Simpson, President & CEO of WTTC announced the findings of the Environmental & Social Research (ESR). In one of the largest research projects of its kind ever undertaken, WTTC can for the first time ever, accurately report and track the impact industries within the sector have on the environment.

Previous estimates have suggested that the global Travel & Tourism sector was responsible for up to 11% of all emissions. However, WTTC’s pioneering research shows that in 2019 the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions totalled just 8.1% globally.

The divergence of the sector’s economic growth from its climate footprint between 2010 and 2019 is evidence that Travel & Tourism’s economic growth is decoupling from its greenhouse gas emissions.  

These emissions have been falling consistently since 2010 as the result of technological developments, as well as the introduction of a number of energy efficiency measures across industries within the sector.

Between 2010 and 2019 our sector’s GDP has grown on average 4.3% annually whilst its environmental footprint has only increased by 2.4%.

The broader Environmental & Social Research (ESR) will include measures of the sector’s impact against a range of indicators, including pollutants, energy sources, water use, as well as social data, including age, wage and gender profiles of Travel & Tourism related employment.

WTTC will continue to announce new data on how the sector fares against these indicators throughout 2023.

Governments around the world now have a tool to inform their decision-making and accelerate environmental change more accurately.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Until now we did not have a sector-wide way to accurately measure our climate footprint. This data will give governments the detailed information they need to make progress against the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“Travel & Tourism is making huge strides to decarbonise, but Governments must set the framework. We need a steely focus on increasing the production of Sustainable Aviation fuels with Government incentives. The technology exists. We also need greater use of renewable energy in our national grids – so when we turn on a light in a hotel room, it is using a sustainable energy source.

“8.1% is the stake in the ground. The key is to become more efficient and decoupling the rate at which we grow from the amount of energy we consume From today, every decision, every change, will lead to a better and brighter future for all.”

Saudi Arabia Minister of Tourism, HE Ahmed Al-Khateeb added: “We are proud to be a partner to the WTTC in this important research that will monitor impact for the future.

Saudi Arabia recognizes that travellers and investors want policies that promote sustainability in the industry and we have embarked on a journey that will make the Kingdom a pioneer in sustainable tourism.

“Under the Saudi Green Initiative, we launched more than 60 initiatives in the past year to do just that. The first wave of initiatives represent more than $186 billion of investment in the green economy.”

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German residential property market faces a growing risk of price corrections, the DIW research institute said in a study released on Wednesday.

“We are not facing the bursting of a huge real estate price bubble in Germany,” the report’s co-author Konstantin Kholodilin said. “But price drops of up to 10% for owner-occupied flats and owner-occupied homes are quite possible.”

According to the study, prices for owner-occupied homes and flats in 97 cities surveyed across the country have risen by an average of 11% this year, while rents have only increased by 4%.

“Since property purchases are refinanced by rental income – or in the case of owner-occupation by saved rent payments – property prices should develop in line with rents in the long term,” it said.

In many places, rising property prices are due to high demand and low supply, the study added.

The population is growing in major German cities while too few new homes are being built due to less favourable financing conditions, increased construction costs and, in many places, shortages of workers.

“Politicians should quickly give new construction activity a boost by speeding up procedures and increasing public investment in construction,” said co-author Malte Rieth.

(Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

By Paul Sandle and Pushkala Aripaka

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s competition watchdog on Tuesday launched an in-depth investigation into the dominance of the mobile browsers of Apple and Google.

Responses to a consultation it launched in June revealed “substantial support” for a fuller investigation into the matter and into whether iPhone-maker Apple restricts cloud gaming through its app store, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said.

“Many UK businesses and web developers tell us they feel that they are being held back by restrictions set by Apple and Google,” Sarah Cardell, interim chief executive of the CMA, said in a statement.

“We plan to investigate whether the concerns we have heard are justified and, if so, identify steps to improve competition and innovation in these sectors.”

Google said its Android mobile operating system gave users a greater choice of apps and app stores than any other mobile platform.

“It also enables developers to choose the browser engine they want, and has been the launchpad for millions of apps,” a spokesperson said.

“We’re committed to building thriving, open platforms that empower consumers and help developers build successful businesses.”

Apple said it would “constructively” engage with the CMA to explain how its approach “promotes competition and choice, while ensuring consumers’ privacy and security are protected.”

U.S. tech giants, including Google’s owner Alphabet and Apple, are drawing increasing attention from competition regulators in Brussels, London and elsewhere.

Google’s Play Store is the subject of separate investigations by anti-trust authorities in the EU and Britain, the company said last month.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle in London and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Jason Neely)

AI-powered Job.com welcomes new Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of People and Culture in next phase of technology application and growth

Austin, TX, November 10, 2022 – Job.com, the AI-powered recruitment platform, welcomes two new members to its senior team. Jim Bradley joins as Chief Operating Officer and Margaux Gillman as Senior Vice President of People and Culture.

“Jim and Margaux joining the team concurrently is a key strategic move, which signifies a commitment to expanding our healthy operational organization and dedication to the people that make it happen across our portfolio,” said Job.com Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Sloyan. “With more than 800 people now working for Job.com, these appointments are essential as we continue to grow our business.”

As COO, Jim Bradley will lead the internal service that supports the operating portfolio and ensure the further development, implementation, and adoption of Job.com’s proprietary technology. Job.com has made five acquisitions of staffing and recruitment firms since 2020, each enabling Job.com to evolve and enhance its AI and machine learning-powered tech. As firms continue to join forces with Job.com, Jim will expertly guide scalable operational efficiency while ensuring Job.com technology delivers efficient candidate attraction, better placements, decreased hire time, and a human-first hiring process. Jim brings with him an abundance of staffing and recruitment experience gained over a long and impressive career in the sector.

“I look forward to leading the organization in adopting the transformational recruiting technology that Job.com is taking to market. Our AI-driven recruitment technology significantly enhances both the recruiter’s ability to perform for our clients and the job-seeking candidate’s experience,” said newly named Job.com Chief Operating Officer Jim Bradley.

Jim joins Job.com from his previous role as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at Kelly Services where he was responsible for Financial Shared Services, Operational Shared Services, IT, Procurement, Workers’ Compensation and Safety, Facilities, and the Global Services and Implementation Group. Prior to his role as CAO, Jim held various leadership roles in Kelly’s Outsource and Consulting Group (OCG) and the Global Solutions organization focused on the largest and most strategic customer programs at Kelly. Jim also has experience leading large global technology implementations and started his career in financial services management and product management.  

“We are excited to bring Jim’s vast expertise to Job.com and our executive team. He will work with the operating companies to ensure we integrate as seamlessly as possible and maximize the opportunities and economies of scale for the future of Job.com,” added Sloyan. “I look forward with confidence to having Jim at the helm of operations as he plays a key role in our accelerated growth and the execution of our strategy.”

Margaux Gillman has joined to lead the people and culture-focused functions and develop and bring together the operating firms’ HR teams as acquisitions continue for Job.com. The creation and appointment of a senior People and Culture leader at the corporate level demonstrates Job.com’s continuing commitment to building a modern organization while also continuing to foster an environment that is holistically people focused. 

“Job.com exists to make hiring better for candidates, clients, and recruiters, but that also means we need to provide an enriching and fulfilling experience for those who already have one—here at Job.com. Margaux’s leadership will make a brilliant impact on what people operations can look like in the modern workplace, and most importantly, we share a philosophy that our people are our greatest asset and their engagement in our organization is always the key driver for success,” said Co-Founder and Job.com Chief Visionary Officer Arran Stewart.  

“The future of work is evolving rapidly, it’s exciting to be part of an organization that’s disrupting and advancing how people find meaningful, engaging work. I’m thrilled to be working alongside passionate leaders who are focused on nurturing and supporting a people-centric culture!” said newly appointed Job.com Senior Vice President for People and Culture Margaux Gillman.

Margaux joins the team from Gathered Foods serving as the Chief People Officer. Before this role, Margaux served as Vice President of Talent & Culture at Vital Farms and VP of People at Social Solutions. Her background includes attorney and legal recruiting, notably working at Axiom, the world’s largest provider of tech-enabled legal solutions for enterprise organizations. Margaux has a wealth of experience and passion for facilitating change management, building highly functioning teams, and fostering value-driven engagement. Her combined experience in people and culture roles, the recruitment industry, and the technology space bring a uniquely beneficial perspective to the future of Job.com.  

Job.com’s growth has added more than 300 people to their full-time employee roster since 2020, and hundreds more in temporary and temporary full-time W-2 employees. Job.com’s focus on acquiring successful staffing and recruitment firms remains steadfast with the majority of their portfolio companies gaining recognition—for best places to work, fastest growing companies, and top recruiting firms from both local and national sources including Forbes and Inc. 5000.

Job.com is a digital recruitment innovator with a unique objective: Delivering technology and capabilities that shake up the market by bringing together a data-driven approach based in AI and machine learning along with high-level, human-capital-delivered solutions, designed to efficiently attract and retain the right talent while providing consumer-level user experiences throughout the hiring process. This distinctive combination provides true value and control to jobseekers, companies, and recruiting teams, which results in more effective talent acquisition, better-fit career moves, and the most human hiring experience possible. Job.com’s solutions are growing and evolving rapidly to serve multiple segments of the market and will continue to be the place where individual jobseekers manage their career path and employers find their next hire.

Job.com’s mission is to transform talent acquisition with smart technology and a human-first approach.

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Marvel Studios adventure “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” brought crowds to movie theaters around the globe over the weekend, selling an estimated $330 million in tickets and setting a November record in the United States and Canada.

The sequel to 2018 Oscar-nominated blockbuster “Black Panther” racked up roughly $180 million at domestic theaters Thursday night through Sunday, distributor Walt Disney Co said. That marked the highest total ever for a film opening in November, topping the $158.1 million for 2013 film

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

Outside the domestic market, “Wakanda Forever” pulled in an estimated $150 million from Wednesday through Sunday. It ranked as the top-grossing Hollywood release in all markets.

The results provided a boost to movie theaters, which have struggled to return to pre-pandemic levels of ticket sales. The domestic total ranked as the No. 13 movie debut of all time.

“One of the top 15 openings of all time tells me the box office is pretty healthy when there is something audiences what to see,” said Jeff Bock, senior media analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. “Marvel time and time again offers something audiences want to see.”

The original “Black Panther,” starring Chadwick Boseman as King T’Challa, broke ground as the first superhero movie with a predominantly Black cast. The film took in $1.3 billion at worldwide box offices over its run and became the only superhero movie ever nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards.

Marvel had to rework “Wakanda Forever” after Boseman died of cancer in 2020 just before filming was supposed to begin.

The studio decided not to cast another actor in the role of T’Challa. Instead, writer and director Ryan Coogler crafted a new film that centers around T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), his mother Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and other women who step up to help lead the grieving nation.

Film critics praised the sequel, saying Marvel had succeeded in paying tribute to Boseman while offering a compelling film despite the loss of the popular lead character.

The movie scored an 84% positive rating from movie critics, and 95% positive from audiences, in reviews collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

Bock said his local theater was buzzing with a packed crowd for one of the first “Wakanda Forever” screenings. “I hadn’t seen that for months,” he said.

Box office year-to-date ticket sales stand at $6.5 billion through Sunday in the domestic market, according to Comscore. That is 33% below the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The problem is a thin slate of films, Bock said. Many Hollywood studios are still dealing with COVID-induced production delays. The number of wide releases in 2022 is 37% lower than in 2017.

Theaters are looking ahead to Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” in December, and a larger number of films in 2023, to increase ticket sales.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

By Nivedita Balu

(Reuters) -Twitter Inc paused its recently announced $8 blue check subscription service on Friday as fake accounts mushroomed, and new owner Elon Musk brought back the “official” badge to some users of the social media platform.

The coveted blue check mark was previously reserved for verified accounts of politicians, famous personalities, journalists and other public figures. But a subscription option, open to anyone prepared to pay, was rolled out earlier this week to help Twitter grow revenue as Musk fights to retain advertisers.

The flip-flop is part of a chaotic two weeks at Twitter since Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition. Musk has fired nearly half of Twitter’s workforce, removed its board and senior executives, and raised the prospect of Twitter’s bankruptcy. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it was watching Twitter with “deep concern.”

Several users reported on Friday that the new subscription option for the blue verification check mark had disappeared, while a source told Reuters the offering has been dropped.

Twitter did not reply to a request for comment.

Fake accounts purporting to be big brands have popped up with the blue check since the new roll-out, including Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX, as well as Roblox, Nestle and Lockheed Martin.

“To combat impersonation, we’ve added an ‘Official’ label to some accounts,” Twitter’s support account – which has the “official” tag – tweeted on Friday.

The label was originally introduced on Wednesday – but “killed” by Musk just hours later.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co issued an apology after an imposter account tweeted that insulin would be free, amid political backlash and scrutiny into the high prices of the medicine.

“We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account,” the company said, reiterating the name of its Twitter handle.

A number of misleading tweets about Tesla from a verified account with the same profile picture as the company’s official account were also being circulated on the platform.

“Twitter has over the past several years worked to try to improve that (misinformation). And it seems like Elon Musk has unraveled it within a matter of weeks,” said A.J. Bauer, a professor at the University of Alabama.

Musk had said Twitter users engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying it as a “parody” account would be permanently suspended without a warning. Several fake brand accounts, including those of Nintendo and BP, have been suspended.

On Thursday, in his first company-wide email, Musk warned that Twitter would not be able to “survive the upcoming economic downturn” if it failed to boost subscription revenue to offset falling advertising income, three people who saw the message told Reuters.

Many companies, including General Motors and United Airlines, have paused or pulled back from advertising on the platform since Musk took over. In response, the billionaire said on Wednesday he aimed to turn Twitter into a force for truth and stop fake accounts.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru and Paresh Dave in Oakland, California; Writing by Denny ThomasEditing by Devika Syamnath and Rosalba O’Brien)

A new report published today by a cross-party group of MPs has called on the Government to give the UK’s financial services sector a much greater role in delivering its levelling up agenda.

The report, which will be launched at a dinner in Manchester for senior industry figures from across the North of England, has been produced by Public First for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Financial Markets and Services, a cross-party group of Parliamentarians with an interest in the industry.

It highlights that despite the financial services sector being one of the UK’s largest employers and contributing around ten per cent of its total economic output, the industry has been largely overlooked in the Government’s plans for levelling up.

New figures from a national poll carried out for the report by Public First show strong public support for the industry being given a greater role, with 81% of those surveyed believing that financial services have an important or very important role to play in levelling up.

In addition, the polling found that:

• 93% believe that financial services are important or very important for the UK economy overall, the industry is seen as the fourth most important for the economy overall, behind only healthcare, education and utilities.
• 78% believe financial services are important or very important for the economy of their region specifically, with 80% of those in the North West describing it as important or very important.
• People felt the financial services industry could best support levelling up by investing more in companies outside of London (30%), ensuring a better spread of well-paid roles across the country (26%) and investing more in small and medium sized businesses (26%).
• 79% of respondents saying they would be happy if a family member chose a career in financial services, but less than half (48%) thought it was easy to access information about how to enter it.
• 55% of people surveyed nationally, and 53% of those in the North West, know someone who has worked in financial services or have worked in the industry themselves.

The report highlights the contribution that financial services already make to regions outside London, particularly through providing highly paid, highly skilled jobs for more than 2.2 million people around the country, with around two-thirds of these roles based outside of London, and through investing  tens of billions in new infrastructure, housing and energy projects.

However, it also finds that the public want industry to go further, with 73% feeling it is too concentrated in London and 79% wanting to see the jobs and investment it provides better spread around the whole country.

The report has a central focus on unlocking private sector investment for levelling up, which is vital to creating new jobs in cities outside London but also for boosting businesses and funding new regeneration initiatives.

In response, the report’s recommendations call on the Government and industry to collectively take action to boost the impact of financial services around the country, including by:

• Giving financial regulators, such as the Financial Conduct Authority, a new objective for delivering economic growth for all regions of the UK;
• Providing incentives for major banks and others to create and relocate senior roles in cities outside of London;
• Expanding the role of the Government’s Office for Investment to focus on unlocking new private sector investment in regions around the country, particularly from pension funds;
• Working with local councils and bodies like Citizens Advice to offer banking alongside public advice in communities where bank branches have shut or are at risk of closure;
• Making future devolution deals, such as the trailblazer deals currently being negotiated by Manchester Combined Authority, dependent on Mayors securing private sector investment for their plans, alongside taxpayer funding; and
• Creating new cross-sector bodies to represent the industry in cities outside of London to reflect the growing importance of financial services to their economies.

Commenting on the report, Bim Afolami, Chair of the APPG for Financial Markets and Services, said:

“The allocation of public funds is critical to the success of levelling up across the UK, but the fundamental need for economic regeneration and rejuvenation must be led by the private sector. For the private sector to lead it will need financial services to play their part. They are critical to the effective working of the “real” economy.

“To the business owner, financial services provides the insurance necessary for the office building, the equity required to fund the expansion into new markets, the overdraft to manage the cashflow during a tough month. Financial services are crucial. Yet in the Government’s White Paper on Levelling Up, although financial capital was cited as one of the six essential capitals (human, intangible, financial, physical, social and institutional) that must come together for places to thrive and grow, the paper did not specify how the Government sees the role of the financial services sector. The point of this report is to fill that gap.”