Cable kicks off funding to boost small businesses
BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable has kicked off a wave of activity to boost small businesses, including unveiling the first funding allocation from the British Business Bank’s investment programme and launching a campaign to help small firms grow.
The first £45m of funding is to be committed to investment firms Praesidian Capital Europe, which has been allocated £30m, and BMS Finance, which has been allocated £15m, to provide debt finance of approximately £125m through their respective new funds.
Once legal terms are agreed it is expected that both funds will start lending to small businesses in early 2014.
In Yorkshire and the Humber, there are an estimated 354,000 private sector businesses that could potentially benefit.
Mark Ridgway OBE, managing director of Wakefield-based machinery specialists Group Rhodes, said that the campaign would benefit small businesses at home and abroad.
He said: “The ‘Business is GREAT Britain’ campaign focuses on the capabilities that we have found so necessary to ensure success in the international market place. The UK boasts some of the strongest supply chains in the world and this campaign will show the world how strong these capabilities really are, and highlight to UK companies of all sizes the opportunities that internationalisation presents.”
Cable, said: “The first investments from the British Business Bank’s investment programme will provide choice to smaller businesses looking to secure vital finance to help invest. Alongside cutting red tape and increasing the take up of business rate relief, Government has already made significant progress in improving the business outlook for small firms and entrepreneurs.”
Skills and enterprise minister, Matthew Hancock, added: “Small firms are a vital driver of our economy’s success, so it is imperative we do all we can to ensure businesses don’t just survive, but thrive to compete in the global race.
“We have set out today the start of our ambitious plans to help small businesses realise their potential and the support available to them to help them grow.
“Government has an important role in providing a coherent package of measures to support businesses, but there is also a role for business-to-business support, with successful, growing small businesses talking to others about how exporting, hiring and business planning can take a business to the next level.”
Tim Wilson, owner and founder of delicatessen, The Ginger Pig, based near Pickering in North Yorkshire, added: “The Ginger Pig started with a big idea I felt passionately about and a gut instinct that told me it was going to work. As with any business idea this was not enough, I ensured that my plan was grounded in commercial realism, and supported by thorough research and professional advice.
“The importance of sticking true to this core business idea is huge; at The Ginger Pig we have not diverted from my initial big idea, and as a result The Ginger Pig has grown into a strong, successful and recognised brand with a fiercely loyal following, and a committed and hard-working team who believe in and understand the business.”
In addition to this, Vince Cable set out other measures that will provide support to small businesses. These include:
• A new £1m Sector Mentoring Challenge Fund that will enable firms to benefit from support and advice from experienced business people in their own field of work
• A £10m synthetic biology start up fund from the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) to help entrepreneurial scientists working in synthetic biology get their business off the ground.
• The successful Growth Accelerator scheme, which provides specialised coaching to small businesses with high-growth potential, will have helped 10,000 firms in the coming weeks – including more than 800 businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber.
