8 In fact, there are many organizations engaging in Israeli-UK relations, such as the UK Israel Tech Hub, which, since its inception in 2011, has facilitated over 250 partnerships, with an estimated £1.2 billion economic impact to the UK. There is also the Israel UK Chamber of Commerce, the UK Israel Business, and the Israeli Business Club. Many of these remain as vibrant as ever, while there are also Facebook groups bringing professional Israelis from the local landscape. Some of these include the Israeli Startups in London and the Israeli Tech Parliament in London. This agreement has also become all the more pressing for Israel, given controversial judicial reforms that have concerned the tech sector, banks and global ratings agencies. According to Start-Up Nation Central, which tracks the local tech ecosystem, almost 70% of Israeli startups are taking active steps to pull money and shift parts of their businesses outside the country due to the uncertainty. Adam Levin, London partner at Dechert: “Unfortunately, the relationship has been overshadowed by the political issues in Israel relating to the judicial reform. We are aware that risk committees are having to include it in their assessments of deals, and this has led to several deals falling over at the last minute. It is not possible to see the long term implications for the Roadmap clearly at this point as a consequence. Valuations are being driven down as the supply of investors is slowing due to the additional risk currently associated with Israel as a consequence of the judicial reform. It is evident everywhere from the approximately 20% slide in the Shekel against the US Dollar and GBP, which means that existing investments are now worth less in US Dollar and GBP terms, to the slowing tech sector in Israel with many people losing their jobs. UK investors will be keenly watching for the outcome to the challenge before the Israeli Supreme Court to the judicial reforms and the fallout and consequential events from that. Israeli investors will be watching for the next General Election in the UK which may bring about a change of Government and the policy consequences which will arise from that.” Judicial reforms: Investors hesitant but interest remains
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=