Global Scans · UK · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Achieving Brexit will dominate the UK's agenda up to and beyond 2020 with uncertainty rife until clear decisions are made on the form of Great Britain's future relationship with the EU and the rest of the world.

• [New] UK-based AI infrastructure firm Nscale will invest $865 million for a 10-year, 40 MW colocation agreement with WhiteFiber's NC-1 data center complex in Madison, North Carolina. DataCenterKnowledge
• [New] Cryptoasset businesses will need to be authorised by the FCA to do business in the UK and demonstrate that they meet the required standards. Taylor Wessing
• [New] Delays to 5G could cost £41 billion in lost economic output, and that gigabit-capable coverage reaches only 62% of premises in rural areas, compared to 87% nationwide. / UK UKAuthority
• [New] Key findings include the potential for a £159 billion productivity boost by 2035 from widespread 5G adoption, and a £73 billion uplift to UK productivity by 2034 through nationwide full fiber rollout. UKAuthority
• [New] Delays in infrastructure deployment could cost the UK tens of billions in lost productivity, while successful adoption of 5G and full fiber could deliver economic gains worth £200 billion by 2035. UKAuthority
• [New] UK real GDP is expected to recover 0.1% m/m after shrinking -0.1% in October. Brown Brothers Harriman
• [New] In the UK alone, over two million people live with sight loss, a figure expected to rise to 2.7 million by 2030. The Fintech Times
• [New] The UK government has unveiled its first comprehensive road safety strategy in over a decade, aiming to cut deaths and serious injuries on Britain's roads by 65% by 2035, with a more ambitious 70% target for children under 16. Insurance Business
• [New] Britain must significantly enhance its preparedness to deter the threat of conflict, particularly from Russia, by fostering a greater willingness among the public to serve, expanding industrial weapons capacity, and developing critical defence skills. Caliber.az
• [New] Geopolitical risk is currently the top external risk for finance chiefs of large British companies. The Sunday Times
• [New] England faces a shortfall of nearly 5 billion liters of water per day by 2050, which is over a third of the amount of water currently consumed by the public. The i Paper
• [New] High street law firms will face a perfect storm of new bureaucracy, undermining the UK government's efforts to achieve growth and revitalise local economies. Legal Futures
• [New] The UK Treasury has a limited grasp of concerns linked to the booming shadow banking sector and may not be prepared for risks the unregulated industry poses to financial stability. The Guardian
• [New] Investment markets will be more volatile in 2026, driven by uncertainty over the global economy and the rate of UK inflation. WealthBriefing
• [New] UK economic growth is likely going to remain weak throughout the year, and (1) rising unemployment and underemployment will reinforce a broader sense of economic stagnation. Lewis Silkin
• [New] Around 43% of UK SMEs still report having no plans to adopt AI, despite evidence that even a modest 1% productivity uplift across SMEs could add £94 billion to annual UK GDP. Ethical Sales
• [New] The UK government recently published a statement outlining its intention to move to an earned settlement system based on a time adjustment model whereby the baseline residence period for settlement for most migrants will be increased to 10 years from the current five years. JD Supra
• [New] Cyber attacks in 2026 will increasingly try to erode public confidence in digital public services by targeting UK government bodies. TechRound
• [New] By 2027, drone delivery will be commonplace in markets like the UK and selected U.S. metros. The FreightFA Brief
• [New] The persistence of weak activity has strengthened investor conviction that the Bank of England will need to deliver multiple rate cuts in 2026, prompting renewed demand for longer-dated government debt. / UK investing.com
• [New] Sustainable infrastructure and finance will be key areas for trade in 2026. / UK Canning House
• [New] Transport for London (TfL) is warning that unclear clauses in the Great British Railways legislation going through Parliament could leave it with long-term uncertainties about its operations. IanVisits
• [New] Only zero emission vehicles will be sold from 2035 onwards. / UK GB News

Last updated: 13 January 2026