A FREE business event is being held in Redcar and Cleveland to help Small and Medium sized Businesses (SMEs) access expert supportat short, personal sessions.
Enterprises with fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of less than £50 million are invited to the Redcar & Cleveland Business Growth Surgery from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Thursday 13 July at Redcar & Cleveland Leisure and Community Heart, Ridley Street, Redcar.
Packaged into a time-efficient morning session, the Business Growth Surgery will give businesses the chance to book one-to-one appointments with a host of leading business experts to access information and guidance on:
- funding opportunities and financial advice;
- improving current business technologies;
- apprenticeships and skills training to take your business forward;
- supply chain development;
- how to win business in the public sector;
- exporting;
- coaching and mentoring for business owners.
Partners include: BE Group, Enterprise Made Simple, Materials Processing Institute, R&C Borough Council, Redcar & Cleveland College, TEDCO, Tees Valley Business Compass, Teesside University, Business Enterprise Fund, DIT, NEPIC, LEADER, LMR Training and UK Steel Enterprise.
The event, offered as part of the Tees Valley Business Compass Growth Service, aims to help new and established businesses with the right level of ambition, capability and capacity to improve and grow.
To book a 30-minute one-to-one appointment visit http://www.cvent.com/d/c5q30m and “Register” with your details, then select which organisation you wish to meet with. Businesses can book to meet with more than one support organisation.
Surgery appointments are available at the event with the following organisations:
BE Group offers a comprehensive portfolio of services to help businesses become more productive, profitable and competitive. They currently have grants available through the Tees Valley Business Support Scheme towards capital expansion projects that create new, sustainable jobs in the Tees Valley area. The local representative on the day will be Phil Sly.
Start Up Compass and Enterprise Revolution help individuals and start up businesses to develop the skills and expertise required to run a successful business. The representative on the day will be Phil Teasdale.
Materials Processing Institute helps start up businesses to set up and get their business up and running; as well as helping small and medium sized businesses to accelerate growth. All businesses can benefit from the Institute’s SME Growth Pathway. The Institute is part of the Innovate Tees Valley and Tees Valley Business Compass Start Up programmes. The representative on the day will be Dawn Huntrod.
Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council’s Business Growth and Procurement Teams will be there to help local firms do business in Redcar & Cleveland, with services such as information on vacant sites and property and associated incentives, planning and local regulatory advice and details of how to do and win business with the Council. The representatives on the day will be Michelle Gray, Margie Oliver and Clare Stanton.
Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council’s Visitor Destination and Vibrant Places Team will be available to discuss the proposed funding for Redcar Town centre. This includes a grant scheme to allow businesses in the town centre to carry out shop front improvements and works to enable their business to become more sustainable.
The representative on the day will be Angela Brockbank.
Redcar & Cleveland College offer training and apprenticeship support to industry through academic and bespoke courses. This includes training from Site Safety Passports through to bespoke innovative designed courses. Current expertise is in Oil and Gas, Electrical/Electronic, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Plant Process Engineering, Business, Management, Construction and Civil Engineering, including Occupational Safety for International Companies. The representatives on the day will be Graeme Wood and Julie Buckle.
TEDCO helps new businesses to start up and grow through intensive support including business planning, accessing finance and making those all-important contacts. TEDCO is the North East delivery partner of Virgin Start Up, offering low cost loans and expert mentoring. The representative on the day will be Mark Johnston.
Tees Valley Business Compass offers business funding & support schemes to help your business grow. Grants are available for business growth consultancy, energy efficiency, faster broadband and innovation. Their Growth Consultants will work with your business to help you understand the barriers that are currently preventing growth and help you to identify opportunities to improve your business performance. The representatives on the day will be Gillian Baker and Lisa Gowler.
Teesside University’s branded business support service, The Forge, offers businesses a range of services including research and consultancy, training and development, talent recruitment, business facilities and access to UK and European networks. The University is also leading the Innovate Tees Valley project alongside partners MPI, NEPIC and Digital City. The representative on the day will be Sue Gilbert.
UK Steel Enterprise provides funding to start-up and growing businesses under its Regeneration Fund for loans up to £3,500. Further debt and debt/equity packages are available from £25,000 to £1,000,000 for growing businesses. The local representative on the day will be Peter Taylor.
NEPIC are a partner in the Innovate Tees Valley Programme and can offer local businesses funded support for the commercialisation new products or services. The NEPIC team have real industry knowledge and experience of the process (chemical, pharmaceutical and renewables) sector. Their understanding of industry’s needs and access to mentors allows them to support companies in the supply chain that would like to develop their business in the sector. The representative will be Dave Robson.
Department for International Trade (DIT) helps UK based companies export their products and services overseas. Working across the UK and in more than 100 countries they have a unique ability to support companies at home and abroad as well as encouraging overseas-based companies to invest in the UK. The local representatives on the day will be Chris Simpson & Stephen Muir.
Business Enterprise Fund is a not-for-profit social enterprise established in 2004. We act as a delivery partner for the British Business Bank funded Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund delivering the Micro loan fund which provides loans between £25,000 and £100,000. Other funds, Debt Finance £100,000 – £750,000) and Equity Finance (£50,000- £2million) are available via the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The representative is David Winspear.
The North York Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER area includes East Cleveland. We are looking to support small and medium size enterprises within the locality which deliver direct economic outputs and which will fit within one of the following; increased farm productivity, rural tourism, rural services and farm diversification. The representative on the day will be Amy Thomas
LMR Recruitment & Training have Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) funding for employees of eligible businesses in LEP priority sectors in the Tees Valley. This is to fill skills gaps and support your company growth plans. To find out if your business is eligible for this funding please speak with the representatives Gary Robson or Mark Humphrey on the day.
Also in attendance will be representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses and the North East Chamber of Commerce.