Ambitious entrepreneurs face a panoply of risks between ideation and exit, some of which can stop them in their tracks. One such risk that gets overlooked all too often is the web of regulations that constitute our approach to competition policy. As we argued in Better Together, these rules can have a chilling effect on investment, and thus entrepreneurial activity overall.
On this note, busy founders will be easily forgiven for not digging deep into the recesses of GOV.UK to find the Department for Business and Trade’s paper Refining Our Competition Regime.
It covers a lot, but let me highlight one proposal. Specifically, the paper proposes giving the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) the power to compel companies to hand over the source code behind their algorithms. It would also be able to intervene in how products operate during an investigation — for example, by altering how content is displayed or how a pricing engine behaves — before any wrongdoing has been proven. The CMA could even run its own tests on an algorithm under conditions it specifies, with its in-house experts observing how the system behaves.
These are investigative powers rather than penalties. In practice, that means they could be deployed during a review — most likely a merger investigation — prior to any conclusion being reached. These powers would expand the surface area of regulatory risk, increase the burden on businesses subject to them, and send an unwelcome signal about the UK’s regulatory culture that investors around the world will notice.
The Department for Business and Trade’s call for evidence on these proposed changes to the CMA closes at the end of the month. You may wish to respond. And please feel free to reach out directly to me with your thoughts on this.
Easy As
This week, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Entrepreneurship released the A to Z of Entrepreneurship. I appreciate that many of you will have heard about this via the APPG’s newsletter or my email, so I’ll keep it brief.
In short, through the APPG, we’ve helped to create an evergreen resource for politicians, policymakers, researchers and anyone looking to better understand the landscape of entrepreneurship policy.
If you have any feedback — including suggestions for new entries — let us know.
Local to Global
International Women’s Day is on Sunday. You’ll already know about all the work we undertake with Barclays through our Female Founders Forum — including most recently Ideas to Impact, in which we looked at the experiences of female academic entrepreneurs in Britain’s spinout ecosystem — so today I want to draw your attention to two separate endeavours supporting female founders I found out about this week.
First, we hosted our latest Ecosystem Builders event in Birmingham with Tara Attfield-Tomes. Among other things, Tara is the founder of The 51% Club, which is building hubs across the country. Second, this week the equally wonderful Pip Jamieson announced the launch of the UN Women UK community app. Both come highly recommended.
Relatedly, do get in touch with recommendations for resources or organisations which have supported your business growth. We may add them to our Support for UK Entrepreneurs page.
Inside a Deal
On the morning of Tuesday 24 March, Buzzacott will be hosting a deep dive into the sale of Cadcorp, a leading geospatial software provider, to NEC Software. The live panel discussion will take you behind the scenes of the journey. You can request a place here.
For the Trees
I’m delighted and honoured to have joined the board of The Cedar Review, a national, independent review exploring how to better support refugee entrepreneurs to start, sustain and grow successful businesses in the UK.
As part of this work, refugee entrepreneurs are being asked to take part in paid research to share their experiences, the opportunities, the challenges, and what would make the biggest difference.
Find out more here, and sign up to take part in the research here.
Message from our Partner
At Fora, we create flexible workspaces that empower ambitious businesses to thrive. With over 70 locations across London, the UK and Germany, our spaces are designed to fuel productivity, creativity and growth.
Now, we’re bringing that vision to The Jellicoe at King’s Cross — a dedicated hub for founders and fast-growing companies. Here, flexibility meets opportunity: scale at speed with agile workspace solutions, connect with a curated community of entrepreneurs and investors, and enjoy all the perks of a Fora membership, from wellness spaces and hospitality-grade service to events that open doors.
Surround yourself with innovators and global tech giants in one of London’s most exciting neighbourhoods.
If you’re building the next big thing, this is where you want to be.