The UK had the lowest rates of business investment out of all G7 nations for a third year in a row, a new report has claimed.

The economies of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are all said to have attracted higher levels of funding from the private sector – as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) – in 2022.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which carried out the research, said the ranking was important because investment in things like new factories, equipment and innovations helped boost economic activity, wages and household incomes.

Dr George Dibb, associate director for economic policy at the left-leaning thinktank, said: “If the economy is an engine, then investment is its fuel.

“The UK’s dire productivity performance is the single biggest driver of our dire living standards.

“Without resources flowing into new investment, it’s hard to see how UK economic performance can improve.”

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The IPPR’s report – based on an analysis of data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – also found the UK came 28th out of 31 members of the international group for private sector investment.

Countries including Slovenia, Latvia and Hungary all attracted higher levels than the UK.

Only Greece, Luxembourg, and Poland had lower rates, the thinktank said.

However, incomplete data suggests that the UK’s economy may have overtaken Canada in the G7 rankings in 2023.

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The IPPR said that the last time the UK had an “average” level of investment among G7 nations was in 1990. Since then the UK has been below average. The thinktank said if average levels had been maintained the country would have benefited from an additional £1.9trn.

The IPPR said the “rock bottom” performance urgently needed addressing and called on whoever wins the general election to introduce measures to increase investment.

It pointed to the Conservatives and Labour, and said both parties appeared to be planning to reduce public investment over the next parliament if elected to government.

Dr Dibb said: “Public investment crowds in private investment, the government need to take the lead by developing a green industrial strategy and show businesses that the UK is the secure, sensible and stable place to invest.”

Labour has said its “first mission” for government is to kick-start economic growth, including via a strategic partnership with businesses and reforming the planning system to build new homes.

The Conservative Party has pledged to boost economic growth via measures such as tax cuts, rather than by increasing borrowing or reducing spending on public services.

After many signals suggesting that it would happen, Fisker has officially filed for bankruptcy.

The chapter 11 filing came late Monday night in Delaware, where Fisker is incorporated. Soon after, Fisker posted a statement on its website.

In the statement, Fisker blamed “market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently.” It is seeking to sell its assets under bankruptcy, which number somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion in value.

The statement continues with some details that may be of interest to customers, including the mention of “preserving certain customer programs” while the company continues “reduced operations.”

The announcement doesn’t come as a surprise, as Fisker reportedly hired bankruptcy consultants in March, and missed a loan payment earlier this month. It had sought investment from a “large automaker,” thought to be Nissan, but those talks fell through. And last month, Fisker filed for the equivalent of bankruptcy in Austria, where its contract manufacturer Magna Steyr is located.

LOS ANGELES (June 17, 2024) – Fisker Group Inc. (“Fisker”), the operating subsidiary of Fisker Inc., today announced that it filed for Chapter 11 protection in the District of Delaware on June 17,2024. It is in advanced discussions with financial stakeholders regarding debtor-in-possession financing and the sale of its assets.

“Fisker has made incredible progress since our founding, bringing the Ocean SUV to market twice as fast as expected in the auto industry and making good on our promises to deliver the most sustainable vehicle in the world,” said a Fisker spokesperson. “We are proud of our achievements, and we have put thousands of Fisker Ocean SUVs in customers’ hands in both North American and Europe. But like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.”

Fisker’s previously announced manufacturing pause will remain in place. Fisker intends to file certain customary motions with the Bankruptcy Court to ensure its reduced operations are able to continue, including paying employee wages and benefits, preserving certain customer programs, and compensating needed vendors on a go-forward basis. Fisker Inc. and other U.S. subsidiaries, as well as subsidiaries outside the U.S., are not included in the Chapter 11 filing at this time.

Fisker statement on its bankruptcy filing

So, Fisker has been on the ropes for some tim, showing significant financial difficulties for most of the past year.

The company was able to start delivering its Ocean SUV just about a year ago, reportedly even with positive gross margins due to its contract manufacturing structure.

However, it ended up having sales and inventory problems over the past several months. While Fisker has produced around 10,000 vehicles, it had only delivered about half of those at the close of last year (which is the most recent information we have – Fisker didn’t file a quarterly report in Q1 of this year). Fisker recently cut prices on its inventory vehicles after pausing production and trying new sales methods to try to draw down inventory.

We were some of the first media to get an Ocean for an overnight review back in November, and we found it an attractive vehicle with some neat features, but that all parts of the vehicle’s software were simply not ready for prime time. Reviews by other media mostly echoed these same points. Software updates eventually fixed some of these problems, while leaving many others intact.

During its rocky Ocean launch, Fisker still introduced some hot new concept vehicles last year – the Ronin supercar, Alaska truck, and Pear utilitarian economy vehicle. We were particularly looking forward to the Pear, but today’s announcement suggests we might be waiting forever.