SME Support Directory

A new online directory, the Enterprise Europe Network’s Info2Innovate has been launched working alongside the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Ireland. It is aimed at SMEs and includes 460 supports and services in a number of sectors including financing innovation, training, innovation infrastructure, networks and advisory.

Innovation is certainly the name of the game and one that will potentially promote business growth in Ireland.

The new directory for innovation supports and services has been launched by John Perry, T.D., Minister of Small Businesses. Speaking at the launch the Minister said: “There are some 200,000 companies in Ireland employing less than 50 people. They might be small in size but together they contribute over €10 billion to the Exchequer annually and employ over 650,000 people. Despite the challenges they face, SMEs are playing a vital role in the recovery and sustained growth of Ireland’s economy and we must ensure we continue to provide them with support. Therefore, I am delighted to be associated with the launch of such a valuable resource for the SME sector and I congratulate the Enterprise Europe Network and their partners for the work they have put in to the development of the Info2Innovate directory.”

The Enterprise Europe Network – Ireland is an amalgamation of business organisations that provide Irish SMEs business support and advice on European funding opportunities and legislation.

For Further Information: Minister Perry Launches SME Support Directory

Business Confidence in the West Midlands Grows

New research has shown that three advanced services have led the way to growth in the West Midlands. Marketing Birmingham Regional Observatory and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) have discovered through their study that advanced manufacturing, engineering and business and financial services have experienced the biggest growth among West Midland small businesses.

However, on the other side of the spectrum retail, tourism, hospitality and construction have been struggling with no signs of employment or turnover growth showing.

Nearly 2,000 businesses across the GBSLEP area took part in the survey between December 2011 and March 2012 and has shown that overall business confidence is returning to Birmingham, Black Country and Solihull’s SMEs.

Neil Rami, chief executive of Marketing Birmingham, said: “Our findings indicate that the local business community could be looking more confidently to the future and are ready to explore opportunities to develop their operations.

“SMEs in some of the region’s strongest sectors benefit greatly from the supply chains of the major companies that have invested here.

“Jaguar Land Rover is but one example of a global investor that has brought local business significant growth opportunities.”

Other areas that the survey touched upon is the growth of the area’s SMEs over the last 12 months and the expectations for future growth.

• More than half of the surveyed SMEs have experienced growth in the last three years
• Two thirds have maintained or increased their business’ turnover – 40% in the last 12 months
• 23% experienced a decrease in turnover
• More than a fifth are considered to be experiencing ‘high growth’

Although the outlook may seem positive, there are many challenges that these SMEs face regarding the access to finance and opportunities required to continue growing.

Chris Loughran, senior partner at Deloitte Midlands, said: “SMEs across the GBSLEP and Black Country area are fighting hard to grow and boost employment, but are still restricted by a lack of available finance.

“As credit remains difficult to access, it is crucial for these businesses to watch their costs closely to maintain the right level of working capital and identify the areas where investing that money will make a real difference to driving product demand – be it research and development, training the sales team or promoting the business to new customers.

“Investing can often ease the road to growth.”

For Further reading: Manufacturers lead growth among West Midlands small firms

"Simplify the landscape for suppliers" Whitehall

Before retiring this week, Chris Chant, the G-Cloud Programme chief is calling out to Whitehall to simplify the procurement process for SMEs. Ideally, Mr Chant wants to avoid any chance for a situation to rise where 80% of IT contracts are controlled by just six companies. Although he believe some progress has been made there still remains a lot of challenging tasks that need to be implemented for any change to have an effect.

According to Chant there were originally a lot of restrictions that often made it difficult to “talk between government departments about one organisation's contracts with another".  However, there are still many concerns over the government outsourcing "all sorts of things which we should never have", including public sector organisations outsourcing work to produce IT strategies that have left the government "completely inflexible". 

Chant, who will be handing over his G-Cloud responsibilities to Denise McDonagh this week, has advised on countless occasions that G-Cloud can provide SMEs with a simplified route to procurement.

G-Cloud is a procurement initiative that is ‘SME friendly’ and has created an online store where public sector bodies can source and buy thousand of services from a vast range of suppliers.

The programme could offer SMEs a welcoming alternative to Chant stating it to be the "easiest and cheapest route into procurement if you are a smaller company". 

Since its inception in February 30 organisations have made purchases from the programme, with purchases valuing from anything between a few hundred pounds up to more than £1 million.

In May, when the second, more user-friendly version of CloudStore launches, users will be able to comment on services included in the catalogue.

For Further Reading: UK Governance: Call for Whitehall to simplify the landscape for SME suppliers to win more government contracts

Fresh struggles for UK’s SMES

SME owners aged over 65 remain uncertain of when they can retire. According to inspiresme.co.uk, The Open University, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Barclays who have contributed to the Quarterly Survey of Small Business in Britain over a third of those surveyed reported uncertainty concerning the age in which they will retire and over half responded saying their retirement plans have changed.

• 42% expect to continue running their business for longer than first thought
• 7% foresee the closing or selling of their business earlier than expected
• Of those who expect to shut their business down, 59% experienced a fall in turnover over the past year

This is just one of the effects the economic downturn has had on British SMEs. However, despite the doom and gloom an astonishing amount of those surveyed have a positive outlook when it comes to retiring at a reasonable age:

• 47% expect to retire by the age of 65
• 18% expect to retire between 66 and 70 years old
• 11% predict that they will continue to run their company beyond the age of 70

So what is the reason behind this uncertainty? Pensions

The economic climate has not only had a knock on effect when it comes to turnovers and profitability, but also the lack of lucrative pensions. The survey revealed that 28% expect to struggle through their retirement. However, this statistic changes depending on the size of business run.

Of those who run a small business, 35% believe they will come up against financial hurdles, whilst 20% of those who run a medium sized business expect the same outcome.

More worryingly for these SMEs is the lack of insurance should one fall ill or be injured:

• 16% said they would have to close their business if they were unable to work due to illness or injury, which then shoot up to 48% among those who work independently
• 53% responded saying that they have not taken up any insurance that would protect them against illness or injury
• 44% felt that they have reliable staff and fellow owners if the circumstance arose

Professor Rebecca Taylor, Dean of The Open University Business School said: “The economic downturn has created a number of serious challenges for Britain’s SME owners. Our latest survey findings suggest that many owners, particularly those with smaller businesses, are having to make significant changes as they plan for retirement and succession. While some owners may never have intended to give up the business, many now expect to work for much longer than they had envisaged.”

Sue Hayes, Barclays business banking, said: “It is never too early for business owners to start planning their retirement. These research figures show that, especially in the current economic environment, the need for retirement planning advice is even greater, particularly for those who are nearing or beyond retirement age. Our business relationship managers are available to provide support and advice to older entrepreneurs so that their businesses can continue to thrive when the time comes to hand over the reins.”

For Further Reading: SME owners facing retirement struggle

Supporting SMEs tackling the issue of climate change

Support will be offered to SMEs who wish to present their ideas on climate change and demonstrate their products that will assist in tackling the issue.

The Secretary of State For Energy & Climate Change, ED Davey MP has announced that there will be support given to SMEs wanting to implement low carbon strategies in the future, “Part of the way that we're going to tackle climate change and get clean energy is through innovation, particularly with SMEs. We're allocating a fund of £35 million, which will help innovators and entrepreneurs develop and demonstrate low carbon technologies.

“The first wave is going to be in energy efficiency in buildings, things like advanced lighting, heat pumps, ventilation technologies and so on. This is a practical way that we can make sure we get to the low carbon economy.”

The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund’s budget of up to £35million over a span of three years will provide financial support to SMEs that want assistance when it comes to the development and demonstration of their ideas. An additional £1million can be funded from the government to support any other funding from the private sector.

The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) will also be advised by a selection of investors as to which SMEs will be able to benefit from additional support in regards to presenting their products to the market. The DECC’s £35 million Buildings Innovation Programme has been divided up with £20 million potentially funding energy efficiency technologies, whilst the remaining £15 million will be used at a later stage to expand the call into power generation.

Details of the application process for part of the £20 million funding will be available by the summer.

For Further Reading: DECC Announces Support For Low Carbon SMEs