Business Link Yorkshire “Real help for businesses” John Fox Strategic Partnership Manager York and North Yorkshire

1. Business Link Yorkshire“Real help for businesses”John Fox Strategic Partnership ManagerYork and North Yorkshire

2. Business Link Yorkshire • Established on 1 April 2008 • Covering whole of Yorkshire and Humber • Funded by Yorkshire Forward • Part of the national Business Link organisation • Consistent high quality service across the region • Focus on Business Link core role • Aligned with economic priorities

3. Business Link Yorkshire • Working to: • Stimulate a more entrepreneurial economy • Instil a spirit of ambition and enterprise • Help develop growth orientated businesses • Raise the aspirations of existing businesses • Help improve their productivity • Add greater economic value to the region’s • economy

4. Our Services • Objective • Impartial • Easy to use • FREE!

5. Information Push Free Hints and Tips factsheets on: • Money Saving Tips • Maintaining a Healthy Cash Flow and Getting Paid on Time • Restructuring, Business Finance and Diversification • Sales and Marketing • Writing Effective Bids, Proposals and Quotes

6. Events • Enterprise shows, big ticket events, seminars and workshops

8. Online Business Health check Action plan is tailored to your individual requirements, you can make it as simple or complex as required. Visit: www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk

9. Adviser Services • In depth adviser services targeted to work with local businesses of importance where we can add real value • Provide access to support and funding where appropriate • Our advisers have helped hundreds of local businesses over the years • Don’t reinvent the wheel. Learn from other people’s mistakes and successes. • We are a critical friend, a sounding board

10. How we work We work with clients to diagnose their needs and business support requirements and seek to introduce them to specialist services best placed to service their needs and deliver most added-value. We use a unique database of suppliers, the Yorkshire and Humber supplier database

11. Supplier Database • To register as a supplier of business services in Yorkshire and Humber visit: www.yhsuppliers.co.uk • For more information on the Yorkshire and Humber Supplier Database call 01483 408199.

12. Updated services -Financial Health check • Be based in Yorkshire and Humber with a minimum of 5 employees (or direct associates who wholly depend on the business for employment), excluding owners or shareholder directors and a maximum of 250 employees; • Have been trading for more than 1 year and have a history of profitable trading until last year when the economic climate had an impact; • Be solvent and able to demonstrate a viable future; • Have a clear measurable goal which they need the health check to help them achieve; • Need to understand as a matter of urgency how best to focus their energies; • Be willing to share the content of the health check with Business Link.

13. Financial Health Check Case Study • Client is an old-established (50+ years) family owned manufacturing business • Employ over 50 staff • Annual turnover circa £6m in 2008 • Projected turnover circa £10m by 2010 • 2008 NPBT circa £800k

14. Financial Health Check - Outcomes • Confirmation that their business was in good financial shape and with sufficient resources to fund their ambitious growth plans • This gave them the confidence to commit to investing in a factory extension, they applied for financial support under the Grant for Business Investment scheme, and have just (last week) been offered a grant of £90k towards the costs of the £930k project • They reviewed their use of the R & D Tax Credit Scheme (which they thought they were already using to maximum potential) with experts introduce by BLY, and were granted a net tax refund of £14k

15. What’s new Innovation Vouchers - a scheme to offer businesses academic support to help with the development of new products and services. 350 companies have so far received vouchers worth up to £3000 to help them stay more competitive by investing in research and development.

16. What’s new Designing Demand - Workshops will be run around Yorkshire and Humber for fledgling or established businesses to identify how design can help them grow and develop. Eligible companies will receive free consultancy of up to 5 days with a design mentor, who will work with them on establishing a project and advise them on how to select the right design agency.

17. What’s new - National Initiatives Enterprise Finance Scheme(Replaces the Small Firms Loan Guarantee) A guarantee facility for SMEs intended primarily to improve the availability of working capital through term loans and the consolidation of overdrafts, while also supporting lending for business growth and development, in cases where a sound proposition may otherwise be declined due to a lack of security. This will help good smaller businesses, who are currently not able to access the finance they need, to secure loans of between £1,000 and £1m through the government guarantee

18. What’s new through UKTI Passport to Export is designed to help small and medium sized businesses completely new to or just starting to export. Gateway to Global Growth - is designed to help innovative SME’s with between 2 and 10 years export experience to increase sales overseas.

19. What’s new In Yorkshire and Humber, the Skills Brokerage Service is delivered by Business Link Yorkshire and is also known as Train to Gain. This is a national service that supports businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to improve the skills of its employees to help improve business performance.

20. What our customers say • “Business Link has given me a lot of confidence to believe in my own ideas. I feel I’ve had access to very high quality expertise…” Linda Barrie, Choc-affair • “Cash flow is a nightmare for any small business and Business Link helped me find ways to improve that” Helene Iveson, Mulberry Bush • Business Link has been instrumental in our strong growth” Robert Johnson, Craftsman Tools

21. What our customers say • The seminars were really inspirational. I went to ones on setting up a business and raising finance. The best bits were the networking and bouncing ideas around with other entrepreneurs” Paul Moran, Broughton Laboratories • Business Link was important in helping us to keep the post office. We value their continued advice and support” Mike Popples, Marton cum Grafton village shop

22. Summary • Information • Online resources • Workshops and Events • Adviser services supporting businesses on: Skills, Innovation, Raising Competitiveness, Business Strategy, International Trade, Access to Finance and so on. • Referrals

23. Contact Details  08456 048 048  www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk