18/10/2022 - Permalink

News from our partners: Marches LEP stages access to finance breakfast

Related topics: Economic growth / Partner organisations

New from our partners Marches LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership)

A special event to help make sure businesses have access to the grants, loans and business support available is to be staged by the Marches LEP.

The networking breakfast – to be held in Telford on Thursday 1 December 2022 – will introduce business intermediaries to the many strands of funding support available to small and medium businesses in the Marches area.

The event is at Telford College from 7.30am until 9.30am – and will also include the launch of the LEP’s new Marches Energy Grant, a £1.575m funding pot to help companies use energy more efficiently and cut carbon emissions and waste.

Paul Kalinauckas

Paul Kalinauckas

Paul Kalinauckas, the LEP’s access to finance champion, said:-

“This meeting is aimed at intermediaries and finance brokers who work with businesses in the Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Telford & Wrekin areas.

“Businesses are facing unprecedented pressures at the moment, including rising interest rates, huge energy bills and increased red tape for importers and exporters.

“We want to show businesses and their intermediaries that there is help available, as well as help them to access that help. It is vital in these very challenging times that businesses can access the funding they need to grow and innovate.”

Paul said that the LEP’s business support arm, the Marches Growth Hub, already played a key role in helping business get the support it needed, and the LEP was working closely with the British Business Bank to ensure other finance was also available.

The event would look not just at grants but the wide range of alternative loan and equity funds available as well, if your bank cannot help.

And Paul added that the launch of the Marches Energy Grant would offer real help to SMEs struggling in the face of the energy crisis:-

“The Marches Energy Grant can directly help companies cut their energy costs and invest in energy-efficient technology which also reduces their carbon footprint and saves waste. We’ll be revealing how companies can apply for the grant and want to support as many of them as possible.”

Paul will welcome guests to the event and other speakers will include Marches LEP chief executive Rachel Laver, fund managers from the British Business Bank’s Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) and finance brokers.

Spaces at the meeting are strictly limited. Bookings are particularly welcomed from intermediaries such as bankers, solicitors, accountants and business advisers as well as finance brokers who have clients seeking finance. To confirm your free place, please email: jo.grivell@marcheslep.org.uk

Caption: Paul Kalinauckas

About the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership

  • The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership is driving accelerated economic growth through investment in innovation, higher level skills, housing and business sites across the region.
  • The Marches region, which includes Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Telford & Wrekin, is a dynamic business region where entrepreneurs flourish alongside global players. Covering 2,300 sq miles and with a growing population of 684,300, it is home to 30,775 businesses and a £14.3 billion economy.
  • Bordered by the West Midlands to the east and Wales to the west, the Marches’ key centres of population and employment are the city of Hereford and thriving towns of Shrewsbury and Telford. A network of 25 smaller market towns and a large rural area make up the rest of the settlement mix – with the Marches recognised as being one of the most enterprising regions in the UK
  • High profile businesses which have chosen to base operations here include BAE Defence Systems; GKN; Westons Cider; Grainger & Worrall; Stadco; Caterpillar; Mϋller Dairy UK, Doncasters Aerospace, Denso, Capgemini, Ricoh, Cargill, Heineken, Grocontinental, McConnels, Kerry Ingredients, Special Metals, Kingspan and Makita
  • The Marches is also home to centres of excellence and institutions which promote and foster the transfer of knowledge including Harper Adams University and its National Centre for Precision Farming, University Centre Shrewsbury, the University of Wolverhampton campus and e-innovation centre at Priorslee, NMITE, New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering, and Food Enterprise Centre in Shrewsbury
  • The designated Enterprise Zone of the Marches LEP is in Hereford, at Skylon Park. It is the only Enterprise Zone in England with a unique defence and security sector focus, drawing on the city’s heritage as the home of the SAS
  • The LEP area is home to some iconic places of interest. The Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, the Shropshire Hills and the Wye Valley Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Offa’s Dyke, the rivers Severn and Wye, and places of national renown including Ludlow and Ross-on-Wye make it a highly popular place to both visit and relocate to
  • The Marches has a diverse business base and is recognised for its sector strength in advanced manufacturing and engineering; agri-food and drink; automotive and defence & security
  • Business support in the Marches is offered via the Marches Growth Hub, a business-friendly website at marchesgrowthhub.co.uk and helpline on Freephone 0800 998 1098 developed by the LEP
  • You can learn more about the Marches LEP at marcheslep.org.uk and contact the LEP by emailing enquiries@marcheslep.org.uk

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