Deal on the Horizon
The business news that matters
Hello and welcome to the latest Off to Lunch…
The UK has agreed a deal to re-enter the Horizon Europe programme, which means scientists will be able to collaborate with their peers in the EU on key research and development projects.
The UK has been out of Horizon since Brexit was completed in 2020, causing concern that innovation could be slowed in key areas such as AI and healthcare
The deal involves the UK getting a €800 million (£688 million) discount on the costs of Horizon to recognise the fact it has been out of the programme. The UK will pay almost €2.6 billion a year on average to Horizon and the Copernicus project, which is developing satellites.
You can see some of the reaction below…
The EU’s member states must now approve this deal. However, the UK government has said that scientists in the country can immediately apply to take part in Horizon projects or receive grants from the €95.5 billion programme.
You can find the UK government’s statement on this here and the European Commission’s statement here. The UK statement includes some business reaction, including this from Grazia Vittadini, the chief technology officer for Rolls-Royce:
“Horizon Europe has had a significant impact on Aerospace technologies and in helping Rolls-Royce remain at the forefront of technological advancement. We greatly welcome the UK’s return to the Horizon Europe programme, and look forward to going further and doing more, leveraging public-private partnership to continue driving world-leading innovation and competitiveness.”
Although the UK will collaborate with the EU on the Copernicus programme, it will not join Euratom, the European Atomic Energy Community, and will “pursue a domestic fusion energy strategy”, according to the government.
You can find out more about Horizon Europe through a useful Q&A by the European Commission here
Other stories that matter…
1. China’s currency, the renminbi, has fallen to the lowest level against the dollar since 2007 after new data showed that exports from the country fell 8.8 per cent year-on-year in August, adding to concerns about the economy. Bloomberg story here.
2. Sticking with economic news, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said yesterday that the Bank is “much nearer now” to halting the increase in interest rates and that inflation is set for a “marked” decline in the UK during the rest of the year. You can find a Guardian story about Bailey’s appearance in front of MPs yesterday - where he made these comments - here
3. The Times has an interesting interview with Tom Kerridge about the challenging economics of fine-dining. The Hand & Flowers, his pub, charges £175 for Sunday lunch but Kerridge says his business only makes £17 on each meal. “We have a staff of 80 for a pub with 40 covers and the annual payroll is about £2.5 million,” he explains. “It’s a beast. That and bills mean we make about £17 on each meal, so we have to feed 10 people to make £170. Believe me, if there was a lot of money in hospitality you wouldn’t have 8,000 closures this year.” It is worth saying - that £17 equates to a profit margin of 9.7 per cent on Sunday lunch, which is a higher margin than food retailers and some other consumer businesses enjoy. Interview here
4. New research suggests that people who get promoted are at risk of leaving that business soon after. This is due to the external attention their promotion attracts and the employee gaining more confidence. Story by The Wall Street Journal here
5. An interesting piece that caught my attention during my summer break was a big analysis by Bloomberg about nine ways to improve cities as places to live and do business. This includes converting offices to apartments on the cheap, building cemeteries as skyscrapers, and recycling water. You can read the feature here
And finally…
The Rugby World Cup starts tomorrow with France v New Zealand in Paris. I was lucky enough to be at Twickenham last month to see South Africa beat New Zealand 35-7. On that evidence, South Africa, the holders, will take some stopping. For a great guide to the tournament check-out the predictions from The Guardian’s rugby reporters here. Expectations are not high for England…
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Best
Graham