Tag: business support

£40 million COVID Restrictions Fund to provide grants and employment support

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has outlined details of a £40 million fund to help businesses affected by temporary restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The COVID-19 Restrictions Fund will provide one-off grants of up to £3,000, depending on rateable value, to bars, restaurants and other businesses required to close by regulations.

A hardship fund with grants of up to £1,500 will support some businesses that remain open but are directly impacted by the restrictions, including those in the direct supply chains of firms that must close from tonight.

In addition, up to £9 million of funding will help with the costs of re-furloughing staff by supporting the 20% salary contribution required by the UK Government.

A discretionary fund of up to £11 million will help businesses that need support but don’t fall into the above categories. This will, for example, support soft play centres that have been unable to re-open this month.

The plan has been developed following discussions with business groups, trades unions and local authorities.

Ms Hyslop said: “The temporary restrictions announced by the First Minister are absolutely essential if we are to prevent a return to the dangerous level of infections that we experienced earlier this year.

“It is a difficult balance and we do not underestimate the challenge that these new measures present for businesses – particularly those in the hospitality sector.

“We have developed a funding plan which will help to protect jobs over the coming fortnight and I encourage business owners to apply for support. 

“We are also committed to helping businesses meet their contribution to furlough costs, where staff have to be re-furloughed.  We have increased the size of the grant available and are urgently identifying a mechanism to deliver additional support on top of that.

“While I welcome the UK Government’s plans to adapt the job retention scheme and the associated consequential funding, we still require clarity on what the Chancellor’s announcement will mean for Scotland.

“This situation further underlines the need for us to have the financial flexibility which would help us to rebuild our economy.”

Information for businesses is available at findbusinesssupport.gov.scot

Grants will be distributed by local authorities. Up to £2,000 will be payable to businesses with a rateable value of up to £51,000 that are required to close by law, for those with a rateable value of £51,001 or above the grant will be £3,000.

Ms Hislop’s announcement followed the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement:

Job Support Scheme expanded to firms required to close due to Covid Restrictions

The UK government’s Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be expanded to protect jobs and support businesses required to close their doors as a result of coronavirus restrictions, the Chancellor announced today (Friday 9 October).

  • Job Support Scheme will be expanded to support businesses across the UK required to close their premises due to coronavirus restrictions
  • government will pay two thirds of employees’ salaries to protect jobs over the coming months
  • cash grants for businesses required to close in local lockdowns also increased to up to £3,000 per month

Under the expansion, firms whose premises are legally required to shut for some period over winter as part of local or national restrictions will receive grants to pay the wages of staff who cannot work – protecting jobs and enabling businesses to reopen quickly once restrictions are lifted.

The government will support eligible businesses by paying two thirds of each employees’ salary (or 67%), up to a maximum of £2,100 a month.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said: “Throughout the crisis the driving force of our economic policy has not changed.

“I have always said that we will do whatever is necessary to protect jobs and livelihoods as the situation evolves.

“The expansion of the Job Support Scheme will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required to temporarily close their doors, giving them the right support at the right time.”

Under the scheme, employers will not be required to contribute towards wages and only asked to cover NICS and pension contributions, a very small proportion of overall employment costs. It is estimated that around half of potential claims are likely not to incur employer NICs or auto-enrolment pension contributions and so face no employer contribution.

Businesses will only be eligible to claim the grant while they are subject to restrictions and employees must be off work for a minimum of seven consecutive days.

The scheme will begin on 1 November and will be available for six months, with a review point in January. In line with the rest of the JSS, payments to businesses will be made in arrears, via a HMRC claims service that will be available from early December. Employees of firms that have been legally closed in the period before 1 November are eligible for the CJRS.

The scheme is UK wide and the UK Government will work with the devolved administrations to ensure the scheme operates effectively across all four nations.

This comes alongside intensive engagement with local leaders today on potential measures are coming in their areas.

In addition to expansion of the JSS, the government is increasing the cash grants to businesses in England shut in local lockdowns to support with fixed costs. These grants will be linked to rateable values, with up to £3,000 per month payable every two weeks, compared to the up to £1,500 every three weeks which was available previously. This could benefit hundreds of thousands of businesses, including restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, bowling alleys and many more.

The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from a £1.3 billion increase to their guaranteed funding for 2020-21 – allowing them to continue their response to Covid-19 including through similar measures if they wish.

These measures will sit alongside the original JSS – which is designed to support businesses that are facing low demand over the winter months – and the £1,000 Job Retention Bonus (JRB) which encourages employers to keep staff on payroll.

They build on the UK government’s wider package of unprecedented measures to help protect, create and support jobs through the pandemic, to ensure that nobody is left without hope or opportunity.

Welcoming the move, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “The extension of the Chancellor’s Job Support Scheme is welcome news for businesses across Scotland, providing a vital safety net for companies which are asked to close temporarily.

“From the very start of the pandemic, the UK Government has focussed on stopping the spread of coronavirus and keeping people safe, while also doing everything we can to protect the economy.

“The unprecedented package of measures we have put in place to support all parts of the country shows the clear benefits for Scotland being part of a strong United Kingdom.”

Muckle Media unveils raft of support for Edinburgh businesses

Muckle Media, the creative PR agency, has announced a number of innovative support programmes to help businesses in Edinburgh use PR and marketing to support economic survival.

Three streams of activity will provide much needed support for Edinburgh businesses looking to reach more customers through creative communications campaigns.

£20k Muckle Helps grant fund

The £20,000 Muckle Helps grant is a 100% free pot of PR fee funding, which is open for applications today. Interested businesses can register their details here and provide a one sentence response explaining why they need PR support and what it would be used for.

Applications close on the 31st August at which point the Muckle Media team will select the businesses they feel they can have the most impact supporting.

The fund will support a total of eight campaigns. It is made up of three packages worth £5,000, with one each in the food and beverage, tourism and B2B services sectors and five packages worth £1,000 each which are open to any sector. Additional funding may become available to extend the programme and the agency is interested in hearing from any potential funders that may wish to sponsor or match-fund additional support.

PR Now, Pay Later

In recognition of the huge impact coronavirus has had on cashflow for businesses, Muckle Media is also taking the unprecedented step of offering ten-month payment terms on invoices on request, allowing businesses to access creative PR now that does not need to be paid for until June 2021.

This innovative programme will support seasonal businesses in particular, as they can benefit from marketing now to improve their business performance in the 2020 season, but not pay for it until profits are being made into the 2021 season.

Terms and conditions and guarantees may be required to access this option. The amount of funding available through the PR Now, Pay Later programme will be linked to Muckle Media’s business growth, with every £1,000 of new business won (on a pay now basis) unlocking £500 of pay later fund.

PR bootcamp

Finally, Muckle Media will be offering a ten-week PR bootcamp programme, aimed at PR professionals who would like to review and revise their strategic communications plans in light of the many changes facing the world.

Also open to out-of-work communications professionals looking to upskill, the ten-week bootcamp will follow Muckle Media’s ten step communications planning process and deliver weekly webinar content on topics including insights, strategy, planning and crisis management.

Weekly content will include guest speakers from across the industry and accompanying worksheets will allow participants to create a full strategic communications plan over the course of the ten weeks.

For those short on time or who are only particularly interested in one topic, there is also the option to opt into specific webinars rather than the full course.

Nathalie Agnew, Muckle Media Managing Director, said: “It’s a difficult time for the economy just now so we would like to do everything we can to help businesses to spring back.

“Effective PR and communications are key to cut through the noise and reach potential customers, so we hope that our three new initiatives will prove popular with businesses of all sizes in need of support.”

Financial support for capital businesses using outdoor space

The charges in place for tables and chairs permits for Edinburgh businesses serving food and drink to customers outside is to be waived.

This follows approval by Thursday’s Policy and Sustanability Committee.  

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “As lockdown restrictions have eased allowing the reopening of outdoor areas for bars and restaurants, we’ve been speaking to individual businesses and local representative groups who’ve asked us for additional help in relation to the charges in place for tables and chairs permits to allow them to make sure that safe physical distances can be maintained when customers are visiting their premises.  

“We’ve recognised that city centre businesses need support due to the absence of both office workers and visitors and this will take time to recover. There is an urgent need to support businesses in the immediate term and I’m delighted that Committee has agreed to support them by waiving these charges entirely during this very difficult trading time.

“This will not only help businesses expand their footprint to help improve trading viability but also help maintain the pedestrian space and access, particularly for families and people with mobility issues or sight impairment.”

Cammy Day Depute Leader said: “This is yet another move we can make which will make the coming weeks and months a little less challenging for businesses.

“For the local economy to recover, we also need to see greater footfall to small businesses and a new campaign will launch next week to draw residents and visitors back to their favourite places for shopping and visiting.

“This is alongside all of the steps we’ve already taken to support our high streets, like directing £112.5m to businesses in support grants and widening pavements and cycleways to make it easier and more enjoyable to visit town centres. It will also be supported by the local Champions Network which we’re setting up to provide us with a direct link to businesses, so that we can monitor the challenges they face and the help they need.”

Businesses will still be required to apply for tables and chairs permits, and the standard conditions will need to be met, however, there will be no charge for the time period 1 July to 31 October.

Any business which has already paid for a permit will receive a refund for any payment made for this time period.

Tables and chairs permits allow anyone who sells food or drink to put tables and chairs on a public pavement between 9am and 9pm, seven days per week

Coronavirus support across every region and nation in the UK

New data published by HM Treasury reveals how businesses across every corner of the UK continue to be supported through government-backed coronavirus loan schemes.

  • new figures show government economic support is reaching every corner of the UK
  • businesses across the entire UK have received government-backed loans during outbreak – with more than 130,000 firms in devolved nations receiving £4.7 billion
  • data also shows that nearly 900,000 firms in England have benefitted from over £10 billion in business grants

Figures released by the Treasury show that more than 130,000 firms in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have benefitted from £4.7 billion of coronavirus support through the government’s Bounce Back Loan and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

This includes:

  • loans and support worth more than £2.3 billion have been given to more than 65,000 firms in Scotland since the outbreak
  • around 41,000 businesses in Wales have received more than £1.4 billion in finance
  • and more than 25,000 businesses in Northern Ireland have received over £1 billion

The figures also show that businesses up and down England have also benefitted from more than £10 billion in business grants, with equivalent funding being made available to the nations through the Barnett formula.

  • more than 102,000 business properties in Yorkshire and the Humber received £1.1 billion in grants since the pandemic
  • alongside 119,000 grants made in the South West, to the value of £1.3 billion
  • and 131,000 business properties in the North West receiving over £1.5 billion in support

Loan schemes, grants and business rates holidays have supported businesses across all sectors. But the retail, construction and hospitality sectors, including hotels and restaurants, have benefitted the most.

17% of loans went to the construction sector, and all retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses benefitted from a 100% business rates holiday – demonstrating how government support helped those businesses that were impacted hardest by the pandemic.

Ahead of a visit to Scotland to see the impact of the government support schemes and meet people who have benefitted, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said: “I recently set out the government’s next steps towards economic recovery and securing the UK’s long-term prosperity in our Plan for Jobs.

“As we embark on this next phase, the latest figures demonstrate that we are continuing to support jobs, incomes, and businesses across every corner of the UK.”

As well as loan schemes, grants and businesses rates holiday, around a third of employees in every region benefitted from the furlough scheme, in addition to support through the self-employed income support scheme, as the government moved quickly to support businesses across the whole country to protect jobs.

This is part of a package of over £50 billion in loans, £11 billion in grants, and 9.5 million people furloughed.

The Chancellor set out his Plan for Jobs last month, which will support jobs with the Job Retention Bonus to help businesses keep furloughed workers, and expand Worksearch Support including a Flexible Support Fund and a £2 billion Kickstart scheme to subsidise jobs for young people

The UK government is also creating jobs in the construction and housing sectors through funding to decarbonise public sector buildings, and protecting jobs with VAT cuts for hospitality and tourism, as well as the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme. These schemes are union-wide, and support key industries across the whole of the UK.

This comes in addition to the government’s recent announcement that the devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will receive a minimum of £3.6 billion in additional funding this year, on top of the £8.9billion confirmed since March to support the coronavirus recovery.

Stephen Pegge, Managing Director of Commercial Finance at UK Finance, said: “Lenders understand that times are tough for businesses up and down the country, but the industry has a clear plan to help them get through this crisis.

“Whether you’re a sole trader in a rural area or a company with hundreds of employees in a major city, the banking and finance industry stands ready to offer the right support to suit your needs and these figures demonstrate that funding is well distributed throughout the UK.

“Businesses should remember that any lending provided under government-backed schemes is a loan not a grant, and so should carefully consider their ability to repay before applying.”

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “Our unprecedented package of support has helped firms of all sizes, in all sectors, and in every corner of our United Kingdom.

“Today’s data shows just how big an impact our measures have had, providing breathing space for millions of businesses, safeguarding jobs and protecting people’s incomes.

“As we bounce back from the pandemic, we will continue to prioritise jobs and skills, while placing the environment at the heart of our recovery.”

Companies benefit from the Scottish Government’s business support package

The Scottish Government created a support package for businesses in Scotland affected by Covid 19 and enterprise agencies worked at pace with VisitScotland and Creative Scotland to design and deliver two short-term funds: 

The Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund for vulnerable Scottish SMEs deemed vital to local, regional and national economies and the Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund for tourism, hospitality and creative industry businesses that experienced hardship due to Covid 19.  

A total of 3,656 awards have been made to companies across Scotland equalling around £145.3M. Visit the Scottish Government website for more information. 

Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Steve Dunlop (above) said: “It is not an easy time for many businesses and Scottish Enterprise is working hard to provide funding, advice and resources to ensure businesses not only survive, but thrive now and in future.  

“The support from the Hardship and Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Funds has allowed companies across a range of industries to continue to trade. We will continue to work alongside Scottish Government and partners to focus on a fair, sustainable and jobs-focused recovery and play a critical role in rebuilding Scotland’s economy.” 

Precision engineering company Almond Engineering is based in Livingston and received £100,000 from the Pivotal Enterprise Fund and has remained in production throughout the pandemic by undertaking safety precautions. 

The business has also manufactured face shields to donate to the NHS as well as creating test equipment for ventilator manufacturers.

Managing director of Almond Engineering Michelle Quinn said: “The support from Scottish Enterprise has been so important for us. We have always really valued the help and support and in times like this it is doubly valuable.    

“The coronavirus has really impacted our orders at Almond and at times such as these when you don’t know how long the crisis will last nor how deep the recession will be, the government and Scottish Enterprise support allows time for the economy to start recovering and ensure that businesses such as ours are here once the world reopens.” 

Edinburgh based interior and graphic design firm 442 Design specialises in venue design, creating memorable customer experiences that challenge the conventions of traditional Food, Drink and Retail spaces. Their clients include Arsenal Football Club, Amazon, SSE Hydro, BBC Scotland, Adidas and Aramark. 

442 Design received £50,000 from the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, which was welcomed by Managing director David Dunn who said: “Our business relies heavily on crowds and entertainment whether through eating and drinking out, football matches or live gigs.

“The banning of crowd activity had a massively detrimental impact on our client businesses. Our business practically stopped with lockdown with all projects put on hold. 

“PERF has kept the company afloat during a time of forced abandonment of all projects, saved jobs and allowed 442 to reposition for the future. We’re now developing a different Covid-aware approach to designing spaces that can deliver both commercial return for client and ensure a great experience for our customers.” 

Arrayjet is a biotech company based in Roslin, Midlothian, supplying inkjet bio-printing instruments and also manufactures Covid 19 testing and research products.  

Iain McWilliam Chief Executive Officer of Arrayjet said: “The PERF grant helped support our cashflow during a critical period when revenue collection and generation was extremely difficult.

“Many of our customers had to cease operations temporarily, and the restrictions on travel prevented us from installing new instruments, look after our installation base, or to visit prospective clients.

“A large proportion of the Arrayjet team were already on the furlough scheme, but the PERF grant allowed us to continue some limited economic activity, to support our key local supply chain, to bring some staff back sooner and accelerate our recovery.  

“The PERF grant helped to stabilise our cashflow and gave our board the confidence to bring members of the Arrayjet team off furlough earlier than planned. As a result, we have been able to develop and market products and services related to Covid 19 research and diagnosis.” 

Council to outline support for local businesses

The city council is exploring extra measures for promoting footfall to the Capital’s local businesses.

Detailed in a report to be considered at Tuesday’s Full Council meeting (28 July), additional ideas for supporting business include a multi-media promotional campaign to encourage residents and visitors to shop local, floral planters to enhance local high streets and the option of ‘green deliveries’ for people unable to shop in person, thanks to the use of cargo bikes.

Subject to funding, these could form the latest moves in a string of immediate measures developed or supported by the Council to address local priorities as lockdown restrictions ease.

This work to help businesses in Edinburgh bounce back after lockdown has already included: 

– Supporting businesses to gradually re-open safely with a ‘Ready, Set, Go’ advice service, including guidance provided to 20,000 business owners

– A more flexible approach to licensing to help more businesses apply to use outdoor space

– Accelerating plans to use the Council’s supply chains to better support local business and stimulate economic growth

– Creating more space for people to travel to businesses safely and enjoyably through the Council’s Spaces for People initiative, with priority being given to support walking, cycling, wheelchair use and prams

– Awarding more than 9,000 Coronavirus Business Support Grants to local businesses during the pandemic worth around £112.5m 

– Supporting planned promotional activity with the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group to gradually market the City as an attractive place for shopping, dining out and visiting with a £55,000 contribution from the Council 

– Working on a Champions network to enable Council officers to engage directly with local businesses on what further support the Council could provide.

All of the above measures are part of the Council’s work to prioritise a sustainable economic recovery – a key strand of Edinburgh’s strategy to adapt and renew as the city emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other measures taken include enhancing the support offered to those who have become unemployed as a result of Covid-19 as well as accelerating the building of affordable homes across the city, alongside sustainable regeneration at strategic locations. 

Adam McVey, Council Leader, said: “We’re starting to see more and more local businesses re-open their doors to customers and it’s fantastic to see Edinburgh full of life and activity once again.

“We’ve put a lot of measures in place to help our City with this transition out of lockdown so that it is as safe, accessible and enjoyable as possible, and we’re continuing to advise thousands of Edinburgh-based business owners on how to operate in line with national guidance.

“This remains a challenging time for our small businesses but I’m confident that we can build on the momentum we’ve seen recently. The report responds to calls being made by local businesses for extra measures and is part of our plan to work hard with the business community to drive footfall back to our local high streets in the coming months.”

Cammy Day, Depute Leader, said: “So many businesses rely on visitors for an income but we recognise the sector will need time to recover. That’s why it’s so important we do what we can to help kickstart local footfall to businesses and explore even more promotional activity tailored to our town centres.

“This report highlights just how many steps we’ve already taken to support local businesses, and I’m looking forward to seeing us build on this even further. The Edinburgh Tourism Action Group is also developing a targeted tourism campaign which we hope will help to draw local people back into the City as we gradually leave lockdown, helping us see the return of our visitor economy.”

£1 billion Business Support Fund opens

Grants to help businesses with COVID-19 impact

Businesses can now apply for grants to help them deal with the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The one-off grants are designed to help protect jobs, prevent business closures and promote economic recovery, and more than 90,000 ratepayers across Scotland will be able to benefit.

The grant support is additional to separate tax relief measures and is part of a package of measures worth £2.2 billion.

Small businesses in receipt of the small business bonus scheme or rural relief, as well as hospitality, leisure and retail business can benefit.

Two types of grant are now available to ratepayers:

• a one-off £10,000 grant to ratepayers of small businesses

• a one-off grant of £25,000 available to retail, hospitality and leisure business ratepayers with a rateable value between £18,001 and £50,999

The list is not exhaustive and if businesses think they may be eligible for one of these grants, they should contact their local authority, which are administering the scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance Kate Forbes said: “While our primary concern is for people’s health, it is clear that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak will have severe economic consequences, and we are treating it as an economic emergency.

“We are determined to help keep companies in business and support them and their staff during this difficult time.

“Local authorities are the most efficient way to deliver this and we have worked closely with them to deliver these measures – and eligible businesses can apply now.

“Local authorities will aim to make payments within 10 working days, and I’d like to thank them for their help in ensuring this support is delivered as quickly as possible.

“The COVID-19 situation, however, is both severe and fast-moving and requires a coordinated UK response: I will continue to work closely with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations.”

More information on how to apply can be found at:
https://www.mygov.scot/non-domestic-rates-coronavirus/

Holyrood committee asks: can business finance support be improved?

Holyrood’s Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee is looking for a wide range of views from businesses that have received ‘Regional Selective Assistance’ (RSA) or other financial support from Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise over the past ten years.

RSA is Scotland’s main national scheme of financial assistance to industry and has existed since 1970. It is managed and delivered by Scottish Enterprise and offers discretionary grants with the aim of creating and safeguarding jobs.

The Committee is also looking to hear from businesses who have been unsuccessful in their application to RSA or have received financial assistance from another body.

Committee Convener, Gordon Lindhurst MSP (above) said: “Over the last ten years over 960 projects have received £337 million of RSA investment. This has represented a significant attempt to address regional disparities across Scotland.

“The Committee wants to gain an understanding of impact these grants have had and whether grant support could be improved, and I urge businesses who have engaged with this scheme to tell us about their experiences.”

The outcome from this exercise is expected to feed into the upcoming Scottish Government budget plans and policy development.

The key areas that the Committee hopes to find answers to are:

  • Does RSA, and other grants, represent good value for money?
  • Could the £18 million to £34 million spent each year on RSA be better used supporting Scotland’s businesses in other ways?
  • To what extent does Regional Selective Assistance support the Scottish Government’s economic goals, as set out in its Economic Strategy and National Performance Framework?
  • How do RSA, and other grants, contribute to “inclusive economic growth”?
  • How do the enterprise agencies measure the impact of RSA? Views on how RSA and other financial support packages are evaluated by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
  • How well do RSA and other grants interact with other SE and HIE interventions?
  • Views on the eligibility criteria, application and approval process;
  • Should RSA change, and if so, how?
  • What due diligence and accountability processes are followed by the enterprise agencies?
  • What progress has been made towards introducing more conditionality? Whether more conditionality should be applied to RSA funding in addition to that announced over the past year.
  • How successful is the claw-back process when investments fail?

Businesses are encouraged to complete a short questionnaire which aims to capture the experiences and views of successful, and unsuccessful, recipients of RSA and other grants. The questionnaire can be found here

Alternatively, you can respond to the call for views which can be found here

The deadline for submitting views is Friday 16th August 2019.

New Year, new support for small businesses

Innovate funding to help small businesses grow

s300_BIS_960Most small businesses awarded Innovate UK funding from January 2015 will automatically receive business support to help them grow faster. The new growth support offers small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) the chance to:

  • participate in a growth workshop
  • complete an online diagnostic of their business
  • discuss their business needs with a growth expert to develop a growth plan

Based on the results, SMEs will gain opportunities to get:

  • coaching
  • mentoring
  • entrepreneurial skills training

This will cover areas such as:

  • developing a business model
  • sales
  • strategic marketing
  • access to finance
  • leadership
  • change management

Innovate UK will meet the costs of this SME growth support. It will be provided by different organisations depending on where the SME is based:

This growth support is being offered after a successful pilot project showed that businesses that combined our funding with additional business support were able to grow their businesses more quickly.

SMEs that combined funding from Innovate with business coaching:

  • saw an average 26% increase in turnover
  • created an average 4.6 new jobs

Mentoring and training in business skills also helped businesses to gain confidence and to make the most of their potential.

s300_Bind-a-tex_for_SME_growth_news_storyOne of the companies that took part in the pilot was Bolton-based Bindatex, an innovative small business that is set to more than treble it’s turnover after receiving funding support from Innovate UK and business coaching.

Founder Chris Lever (pictured above) said: “It helped to take me out of the day-to-day production and think more strategically about how I was going to continue moving the business forward. I now have a clearer picture of where I want the business to go.”

See latest funding opportunities