As 2024 draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the transformative progress made this year. For Stakeholderz, the year has been defined by growth, innovation and resilience, marked by strategic milestones and challenges that have shaped our path forward. Our dedication to supporting businesses aligned with sustainability, building robust partnerships and driving innovation in the financial and sustainability sectors has paved the way for meaningful impact.

Stakeholderz Highlights

• Sustainability-Focused Initiatives: At Stakeholderz, sustainability has remained a core focus. This year, we intensified our commitment to supporting ventures aligned with net-zero goals and ESG principles, ensuring that we play a role in shaping a more sustainable future. This has meant supporting businesses across the sustainability spectrum, including climate risk (e.g. Weather Trade Net), green transition and edtech (e.g. Chorus), sustainable manufacturing (e.g. Arksen) and social impact (e.g. Whatimpact).
• Expanded Network: Through a series of insightful events, we’ve broadened our network, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs and industry experts. This has not only enhanced our reach but also solidified our position within the investment ecosystem. We were particularly pleased with the attendance levels and positive feedback for our flagship Stakeholderz Summit in October, with its theme of Investing in the Converging Worlds of Sustainability, Technology and Innovation.
• Key Collaborations: Our partnerships with prominent organisations such as Edison, JP Jenkins, Harbottle & Lewis, Oxfordshire Greentech, Mewburn Ellis and Ceres Waste, Renewables & Environment have been invaluable in deepening our engagement. In addition, our participation in leading forums like the UKBAA Early-Stage Investment Summit and the Future Sustainability Forum in Dubai has provided platforms for thought leadership and knowledge sharing.

“We’ve certainly not stood still this year! It has been especially effective to spend significant time building out our sustainability-focused ecosystem across not only ventures and investors, but partners across the wider areas of research, secondary liquidity, technology, legal and IP.” – Robert Timms, Stakeholderz Director

Key Trends in Technology in 2024

Artificial Intelligence

• AI innovation continued to soar in 2024, with generative AI tools becoming a staple across industries, driving efficiency, smarter decision-making and unleashing creativity – as well as prompting some well-publicised legal and ethical concerns. The U.S. solidified its leadership in the AI revolution, with startups securing a staggering $11.4 billion across 566 deals in Q3 alone – representing over two-thirds of global AI funding and 45% of worldwide AI deals. Europe also made waves, with AI startups attracting $2.8 billion from 279 deals, while Asia showcased its growing AI influence, securing $2.1 billion across 316 deals.
• While it’s tempting to always regard AI as a sector in and of itself, at Stakeholderz we’re mindful of the fact that AI in all its forms – e.g. predictive output from large datasets, not just generative AI – is often closely linked to innovation in sustainability-focused businesses. Intelligest, for example, is making ground-breaking use of AI to improve the efficiency of biogas production.

Cleantech

• In Europe, cleantech companies secured an impressive €13.2 billion in the first three quarters of 2024. Technologies like green hydrogen and carbon capture are leading the charge, with hydrogen projected to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 61% through 2027. Renewable energy innovations, eco-friendly solutions, and carbon capture systems are drawing heightened interest from governments and private sectors alike.
• Highview Power secured a £300 million investment to support the construction of the UK’s first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant, making it the highest funding received in the sector in the UK. This significant investment will help bring to life one of the world’s largest long-duration energy storage (LDES) facilities, located in Carrington, Manchester, utilising Highview Power’s innovative LAES technology.

“While AI continues to grab lots of headlines, and funding, cleantech has remained resilient and continues to be very attractive to investors. Innovation in the sector is accelerating, with the ever-growing impetus to solve pressing global problems.” – Salvatore D’Urso, Stakeholderz Director

The Financial Sector in 2024

• Market Dynamics: While 2024’s volatile markets presented challenges for investors, emerging opportunities in green finance and tech-driven solutions provided fresh avenues for growth. This shift highlights the growing importance of aligning financial strategies with sustainability goals.
• Tax Changes: In 2024, key UK tax changes included an increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rates, with the lower rate rising from 10% to 18% and the higher rate from 20% to 24%. Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) will increase from 10% to 14% in 2025 and to 18% by 2026. Business Property Relief (BPR) will be reduced to 50% on qualifying shares over £1 million from April 2026. EIS and SEIS were extended until 2035, maintaining key tax benefits like income tax relief and CGT exemption, which for applicable investors makes (S)EIS even more attractive when compared to non-(S)EIS opportunities, given the CGT rises.
• Female Entrepreneurship: Initiatives like the Invest in Women Taskforce surpassed expectations, securing £250m to support female entrepreneurs and investors, and highlighting the need for inclusivity in the financial ecosystem. As these funds are deployed in 2025 there are great hopes for an increase in the (currently extremely low) percentage of female-led businesses which attract funding.

“Although many will describe investment activity in the private markets as having felt subdued in 2024, it should be noted that this is relative to the mini-bubble of 2021. When looking at the longer-term trend, 2024 looks closer to historically average levels, and there are still plenty of innovative businesses attracting capital.”– Alan Matthews, Stakeholderz Director

Looking Ahead to 2025
As we step into 2025, Stakeholderz remains committed to empowering innovative businesses, fostering collaboration and driving sustainable growth. The financial sector is poised for further evolution, with themes like ESG, digital transformation, and inclusive investing taking centre stage.

Here’s to another impactful year ahead – thank you for being a part of our journey!