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£200m support for Northwest businesses as tough economic climate
continues to bite
THE Northwest
Regional Development Agency (NWDA) welcomed Treasury Ministers the
Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP and the Rt Hon Jane Kennedy MP, Regional
Minister Beverley Hughes, MP’s and 100 business leaders to an event
aimed at understanding business concerns and highlighting the
support available to Northwest businesses in these challenging
times.
The event marked the launch of a new document drawn up by the
Government and the NWDA for discussion with business, local
authorities, housing groups, communities and the voluntary sector. It sets out how the Northwest economy has changed and restructured
in recent years and the main challenges and opportunities it faces
in the period ahead. It also sets out how the Government and the NWDA will work with other agencies across the Northwest to continue
to help Northwest businesses and families through the more
challenging times ahead and continue to enable the region to deliver
its long term goals.
At the launch Ministers and theChairman of the NWDA highlighted 5
such initiatives that will provide support to Northwest businesses
in the coming years:-
- £140m Venture
Capital Loan Fund (VCLF) consisting of £70m of European funding will
be one of the first initiatives announced by the £521m, 2007-13
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme in 2009.
- £40m package to
stimulate business investment in skills
- New £10m
High-Growth business support programme
- £4m Innovation
Voucher Scheme
- Improved Access to
Finance
Yvette Cooper MP, said:- “The Northwest economy, like every
region across the world, is being affected by the twin economic
problems of the credit crunch and the high oil and food prices. But
unlike in previous decades this region is now much stronger after
years of strong growth and rising employment, backed by sustained
and increasing government investment. But we are determined
that Government, along with regional and local agencies, will work
to ensure that businesses and households get the support they need
in these times of uncertainty. Looking ahead, we will continue to
make the investment that has supported regional regeneration and
growth in the past, to ensure that growth continues well into the
future.”
VCLFs are a key instrument in European, UK and regional policy for
stimulating innovation, R&D and growth in SMEs. The provision of
equity and mezzanine funding is to support small and medium sized
businesses unable to raise finance on the commercial market because
of the equity gap. These Venture Capital funds are designed to
address a long-term structural weakness in the provision of risk
capital to small and medium sized businesses by providing a source
of funding which would otherwise not be available.
This £140m fund, a priority project of the ERDF 2007-13 programme,
is now out to tender and will be ready to take applications early in
2009. The fund will really make a difference in plugging the finance
gap, helping businesses to gain access to finance to innovate,
invest and grow, which in turn will generate growth in the Northwest
economy.
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA said:-
“Obviously businesses can access financial support from a wide range
of channels but what we are doing is strengthening, to reflect
changing business concerns. Businesses are now telling us that
access to finance is their number one priority and we are making
sure our services reflect that need.”
...continued... |
...continued... The document also
highlights that the NWDA is preparing a £40m package of support to
stimulate investment in priority skills development. As the tough
trading conditions inevitably force businesses to cut-back on
operational costs, the Agency support continued investment in skills
training. This initiative will be developed to meet business needs
over the months ahead.
With the support and investment of the new ERDF programme, the NWDA
also aims to deliver a £10m programme of support to help 1,000
high-growth, new and established businesses in the Northwest. High
growth companies are defined as either new businesses that have the
scope to grow to £0.5M in 3 years or established SMEs that have the
ambition and capability of achieving a minimum of 20% per annum
growth. The project aims to provide intense coaching and support to
businesses in the Northwest that demonstrate this high growth
potential. This initiative will be ready to take applications later
this year.
Beverley Hughes, MP, said:- “I believe the North West region
is now more resilient and in better shape to cope with more
difficult economic times. Over the past decade, the North West
economy has enjoyed a period of unbroken growth.
During this time there has been a significant structural shift in
employment away from manufacturing towards the hi-tech sectors
including biotechnology, digital and creative, chemical, aerospace
and financial and business services. This shift means the
region’s economy is very different than when it faced the economic
downturn of the 1990’s.
As Minister for the North West I don’t underestimate the impact of
changing economic circumstances and as this document, and the
measure outlined in it makes clear, we are determined to work
together to help business, people who work with them families and
communities. I am confident that businesses that are innovative and
invest in the skills of their people will continue to have a bright
future."
Steven added:- “There are significant initiatives in this
document, some already in place that will help support the long term
success of Northwest businesses during and after this challenging
economic period.
And the little things can make a big difference too. Prompt payment
and cash-flow are serious issues for businesses as they now, more
than ever, need to keep a tight-ship and rely on prompt payments so
they can continue at a solid pace without interruption. The 30 day
payment target, already set, is achievable and I would like to see
all public sector partners working hard to ensure this deadline in
not exceeded.”
The NWDA has already recognised the need to make access to finance
easier. The Agency is setting up a new, enhanced, Access to Finance
service for businesses which will be available next month via
Business Link Northwest, as the primary gateway for business
support, which will diagnose business needs for finance, provide SMEs with skills/expertise to secure private funding and assist in
brokering direct to the relevant finance provider.
Other initiatives are also outlined in the document including a
forthcoming £4m Innovation Voucher Scheme that will help over 1000
businesses to work with the Knowledge Base, i.e. universities,
on collaborative projects, plus ideas for High-Growth support, a new
business start-up programme and other ideas for the business
community to comment on.
The document also highlights the success of Business Link Northwest
(BLNW) after its 1st full year as a regional service and promises to
bolster this success by enhancing the regional Business Link
Northwest service even further in the future. Already BLNW now has
50% more business brokers on the ground compared to the 2006 service
and is accepted as the single point of access for Business support
in the region with £18m a year to help Northwest business to grow
and succeed. All of which is helping our businesses in the Northwest
to ride-out the worst of the ‘credit-crunch’. |
