Britain’s entrepreneurs are the antidote to the Covid-19 economic crisis

Enabling ambitious businesses to achieve their goals is what Harper James Solicitors specialises in. In 2021, the unrivalled support we provide will be more important than ever before.

If 2020 was about lockdown and survival, there are now the first signs, thanks to the UK's super-charged vaccination programme, that by the spring we could see the first green shoots of economic recovery in 2021.

But if entrepreneurs - ranging from those running the smallest early-stage start-ups to the billion pound unicorns - are to have any chance of helping this country bounce back, their appetite for risk must be matched by government support. It will need to be supported by a commitment to release the shackles from business owners who are prepared to innovate their way out of the recession which this pandemic has created.

In a recent article for The Times Online, entrepreneur and author Luke Johnson notes that it’s Britain's entrepreneurial spirit that is likely to pull us out of the £2.2tn of national debt the Covid-19 pandemic has plunged us into.

Here at Harper James Solicitors, we witnessed first-hand last year how businesses are up for the challenge. In the past financial year alone, we’ve supported over 1,000 clients, bringing the total number of ambitious firms we’ve worked with to over 2,000, since we formed in 2014.

In the first six weeks of this year, we’ve already advised scores of new clients who have exciting visions in place, not just for the next 12 months, but well beyond.

Our CEO and founder Toby Harper said: 'Ambitious businesses willing to follow their dreams and think big will be the key to helping our economy recover this year. One of the hardest things over the past year for all businesses has been the uncertainty the pandemic has created.

'Knowing another lockdown is only a government press conference away has made it so hard for companies to look too far ahead. Despite the challenge, many firms have not only managed to pivot and adapt, they have also been able to grow and find opportunities during these difficult days. Now with a successful vaccination programme in place the signs are there that businesses can finally properly plan for the future.’

If you look beyond the headlines, the facts and figures about UK start-ups make for encouraging reading. The number of new businesses formed in the UK increased by 14 per cent in 2020 to 772,002. The UK received 36 per cent of all start-up investment in Europe, according to venture capital fund Atomico, and attracted a record £9.3bn in 2020, while London retained its crown as fintech capital of the continent.

Toby added: 'At Harper James Solicitors I’ve witnessed this momentum first-hand. In November, our client Hopin, a start-up that provides online events software, announced it had closed a $125m Series B round of capital. The new capital was raised against a staggering company valuation of $2.125bn. To achieve such growth against the backdrop of the pandemic is astonishing.

'But the lesson for us all is there. To recover, Britain will need our ambitious, forward thinkers and innovators like never before. There is so much that needs to be done and so many opportunities to grasp. Harper James Solicitors will support those entrepreneurs through every step of a journey towards a brighter future for them - and for the country as a whole.'