9 November 2024

Elections, Budgets and Wars: What does this all mean for the markets?

With the US Election all but confirmed, the UK’s long awaited budget finally announced and ongoing macro-economic and geopolitical turbulence, Victor Hill takes a look at the ramifications of these events and how the markets are responding.

7 November 2024

Can Labour’s taxation and invest for growth mantra succeed in its promises?

Invest. Invest. Invest. Taxation. Taxation. Taxation. Is this the mantra and the reality of the Labour government’s first budget in almost fourteen years?

Financial economist Victor Hill explains whether the current economic climate and the new Chancellor’s measures will reanimate growth in the UK against the country’s debt to GDP ratio of over 100%.

Hill calculates that by the end of the decade, the U.K. will still be rumbling along with a growth rate of around 1.2 to 1.4% which he says is not disastrous. What may put a spanner in the works for UK exporters though is another Trump presidency which has a fondness for tariffs on non-US made products.

While Rachel Reeves’ budget is still being scrutinised, Hill says the market expects more details to come about the measures and headline statements. The Bank of England has capitulated on its interest rate predictions before and time will tell if Reeves, as a former Bank of England economist, will do the same.

18 October 2024

Hercules Site Services forecasts £105m turnover milestone with further growth predicted

Brusk Korkmaz is keen to stress that the company he started in his spare bedroom 16 years ago is very much the shareholders company now.

The business is Hercules Site Services (LON:HERC) and since 2008 the tech enabled construction company has grown every year with the exception of the year when Covid impacted businesses globally.

Korkmaz is delighted with the recent financial milestone the business has achieved – that of the anticipated £105 million turnover for FY24 which is well ahead of market expectations.

“We can confidently say that we are well placed to continue growing organically each year,” says Korkmaz.

Hercules supplies both labour and white collar staff to blue chip clients in the infrastructure and construction sectors. It also has a construction services division where it takes on civil projects in the water industry and has a much-used excavator hire service solution.

Significantly it has novel and modern methods for recruitment. It opened its Construction Academy at the beginning of the year to upskill existing and train up new entrants and has a recruitment app which alerts workers to available opportunities.

With some £775 billion earmarked for investment in the infrastructure and construction sectors over the next 10 plus years, Hercules is positioning itself for opportunity and to help it grow organically and by acquisition it has successfully raised £8 million for that purpose.