Wired UK - 11.2019

(Darren Dugan) #1
WIRED PARTNERSHIP | J.P. MORGAN

ILLUSTRATION: MICHAŁ BEDNARSKI

Ten years ago, the financial crisis
cut a swathe through London, sparking
company closures and job losses; as
many as 50 small businesses were
closing each day during the economic
downturn, according to the Federation
of Small Businesses. But the chaos
made room for tech startups to step
in, and a decade on, London’s Silicon
Roundabout is second only to Silicon

How London’s startups

can reach the next level

J.P. Morgan Private Bank isn’t just funding the tech
scene – its expertise is building impactful businesses

Valley. In the past few years, UK tech
companies have attracted a substantial
amount of funding, with more than £5bn
in VC funding this year from US and
Asian investors – with 80 per cent of
that in London alone, it’s fair to say the
capital’s tech scene is a behemoth.
“It’s in the region of £60 billion annual
turnover, with 300,000 jobs at 8,000
startups,” says Oliver Gregson, head of
UK & Ireland at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
However, after five years, only four
out of ten small businesses continue
to trade, says Gregson. “Building from
startup to SME to mid-market – that
life cycle is a difficult one, and resil-
iency is definitely a problem,” he says.
What’s the solution? Expert help. Your
business may not have been through
that cycle before, but banks such as J.P.
Morgan have. “We try to deliver access

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