West Midland SMEs need to capitalise on Olympic feel-good to secure growth
THE West Midlands needs to find a way to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to build on the success of the Olympic Games if the region is to return to steady growth, Lloyds has said.
A recent report from Lloyds Banking Group, The Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, shows that the West Midlands will provide £957m GVA contribution towards the £16.5bn GDP boost the UK economy is set to receive as a whole from the Games.
David Garbutt, area director for Lloyds TSB Commercial in the West Midlands said that in the West Midlands a large proportion of this GVA contribution (£808m) was from construction supplies and equipment provided for the Games, which has also created jobs across the region.
He said it had been great to see products from West Midlands businesses contributing to the construction of the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and the Basketball Arena. This showed what a real asset the region is to the wider UK economy, he added.
“Encouragingly, a further £96m is expected to be generated from Games-related tourism in the West Midlands which is set to continue until 2017, the next five ‘legacy’ years of the Games.
“Businesses in the region need to capitalise on and continue this growth. To do this companies often need to secure funding to maximise on these opportunities,” he said.
The bank is hoping to capitalise on the feel-good factor by marketing itself to the SMEs. It is also involved in the Government-backed Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme which allows small companies lacking sufficient security to access traditional financial support.
“The Games have presented businesses with a number of tangible benefits but it must not stop there. The challenge now is for these businesses to build on what they have gained from London 2012 so that they can continue to grow and so that others might follow their lead,” added Mr Garbutt.
