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The chancellor met the chief executives of Goldman Sachs and its international arm in July<\/p>\n
SIMON WALKER\/HM TREASURY<\/p>\n
Shah joined Goldman Sachs in 2004 after studying mathematics at Cambridge University, became a partner in 2014 and previously held the role of global head of emerging markets.<\/p>\n
He said that businesses had clarity now on taxation for the next 12 months and that some tailwinds for the UK economy existed, including favourable trade deals with countries such as the United States and India. However, he added the country\u2019s \u201crelatively sluggish growth\u201d was undermining confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a broader, longer-running productivity problem and combine that with persistent sticky inflation, interest rates that remain more at the restrictive end and that feeds through to the finances at these companies. I think there are still challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some 2,509 companies with more than \u00a3250,000 in annual revenue and staff of between 5 and 50 people have enrolled in Goldman\u2019s training scheme, which gives them 100 hours of free training delivered by business schools as well as access to a valuable network of peers.<\/p>\n
A study by Professor Mark Hart, deputy director of the Enterprise Research Centre, of the companies found that after three years the participants grew their revenues 43 per cent, representing on average \u00a3665,000 in additional revenues. Companies were 14 per cent more productive after ten years than they would have been had they not taken part.<\/p>\n
The government provides a similar subsidised training scheme for small company bosses, called Help to Grow. It has funding until 2029 and since 2021 has enrolled 10,000 business leaders.<\/p>\n
Shah welcomed the government\u2019s efforts to engage with the banking industry. He met the chancellor, with Gutman and David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, in July. \u201cThey have definitely been open to engaging with companies like ours. The questions we hear from them are how can they support the growth agenda and competitiveness? We are always willing to chip in with ideas on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
One area of focus was \u201creinvigorating capital markets\u201d in Britain and Shah praised the introduction of a \u201cstamp duty holiday\u201d on share trading in newly listed companies in the budget as a positive step. \u201cThat is a good sign of having a pragmatic approach and how they can stimulate listing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are signs of clear intent on how they want to support the broader growth agenda. It\u2019s a balancing act in terms of any measure that is taken and the fiscal implications but broadly markets were reassured.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Goldman Sachs looked set to continue generating bumper fees going into next year. The Financial Times reported last month that Goldman was on track for its best year in mergers and acquisitions advice for 24 years, citing data from the London Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n
Shah said he planned further growth in Europe going into next year, adding: \u201cOur advisory business continues to be right at the top of the league table in terms of announced M&A. On a global basis it is something like $1.5 trillion that we have been involved in, which is quite staggering, and we see that momentum continue into next year.\u201d<\/p>\n