Northumberland is one of seven local authorities’ part of the North East of England, a prime area for businesses to locate and thrive with one of the UK’s fastest growing economies.
Maven caught up with Business Northumberland, the economic development arm of Northumberland County Council to help local businesses understand the opportunities available when starting and growing a business in the County.
With a highly skilled workforce renowned for its advanced manufacturing sectors, Northumberland has a strong presence in automotive, electronics and pharmaceutical industries. The region also has one of the UK’s fastest growing energy sectors with Northumberland home to the Port of Blyth, a modern trust port on the UK's East coast with expertise in energy, project cargo, container, dry bulk and break-bulk sectors handling up to 2 million tonnes of cargo.
Local businesses such as electric and hybrid vehicle specialist manufacturer, AVID Technology and market disruptive platform for the sale and installation of boilers, Boiler Plan are already benefitting from the North East Development Capital Fund to support business growth and create jobs across the County.
In Maven’s latest blog, the team of business growth specialists from Business Northumberland, highlight the opportunities for local businesses and how to access the bespoke and tailored advice for SMEs across Northumberland and the wider North East.
Business Northumberland is business support programme fully funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Advance Northumberland. We predominantly support businesses in Northumberland and the wider LEP area to develop and grow their digital skills.
We do that through a variety of avenues, including:
We also deliver a Growth Programme which offers 12 hours of 1-2-1 coaching directly to a business. This area of the programme is designed specifically for employers who are looking to grow their business over the next two years resulting in recruitment of further staff.
My role as a Business Growth Advisor is to work with businesses who have the desire to develop and grow and help them understand how to do it. I’d start off by having an informal meeting with the business so I can ascertain more about their business and learn more about their plans for growth. Then the planning begins! Together we will build a strategy to suit the business, relating directly to their needs. The strategy could be to attend more networking sessions and upskill in social media or it could be to draw down funding and build a website. Whatever the ambitions of the business, we’re here every step of the way, and if they need something that isn’t covered under the Business Northumberland programme then we will signpost and introduce where necessary.
The biggest challenge has definitely been that mainstream lenders are no longer seen as the only way to finance your business. The accessibility of the North East Fund has meant that smaller businesses who may have once been frightened of this type of finance are now successfully applying and growing their business which is great to see.
Investment finance isn’t always the right option for all businesses, but it can often mean that things happen quicker and on a larger scale. It is also important to remember it’s not just about the injection of cash but also the injection of expertise that come with the investment.
A lot of businesses seem to have a bad credit history or have had a bad experience with previous funders i.e. length of time to get a loan / grant. However the Growth Advisory team at Business Northumberland can help businesses overcome these obstacles and the programmes we have in place allow businesses to identify and attract the right investment or support to suit their needs.
There are lots of options available to help you grow your business here in Northumberland. As a business my first point of call would be to understand the support that is out there, this can be done easily thought the North East Growth Hub website, here you can access:
As advisers under the Business Northumberland programme, we try to signpost businesses in the right direction of all funding available. Any business that we come into contact with who are looking for funding are directed to the most appropriate source.
That you can pop along to our networking sessions, free of charge every month! We hold informal breakfast meetings once a month in Morpeth and Hexham, along with other locations in Northumberland, so check out the events tab on our website and come along for a natter! The sessions are relaxed and provide a great opportunity to meet like-minded businesses, share best practice, learn new things and find out more on how you can grow your business in the North East of England.
Business Northumberland provides support to small and medium enterprises across the North East who are looking to sustain and grow their business. The fully funded support programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Advance Northumberland, so there is no cost to eligible businesses when accessing the support. To see if your business is eligible and to register for fully funded support please visit the Business Northumberland website.
North East business looking for funding to grow? Speak to Maven’s local team about your current and future needs, and our experienced investment professionals will be able to guide you on your funding requirements. Contact our team today on 0191 731 8590.