Business Survival in a Recession

The economic climate at the moment means that it is more important than ever for businesses to be able to access appropriate and targeted business support.

The major business support agencies have existing and new services that address some of the issues that businesses are experiencing and these go some way towards helping to protect jobs and save companies at risk.

Tendring District Council held a Local Business Summit in Walton on 23rd January which featured presentations from Tendring District Council, INTend, East of England Development Agency, Business Link, Essex County Council, Federation of Small Businesses, Alliance and Leicester and Lloyds TSB to explain what additional support they can offer businesses at this difficult time.

Copies of all the presentations are available on the INTend website.

For further information on this event contact Michelle Barr on 01255 686376 or mbarr@in-tend.org.

Tendring District Council have also published a Credit Crunch leaflet which looks at the help and advice that is available for residents and businesses in the District and an Economic Recovery Action Plan which sets out the actions that have already been taken by the Council to help businesses and residents through the recession and lists the actions that will be taken to shape service delivery in the future.

Business Link

In response to suggestions that the UK is already in a recession, Business Link has issued a Ten Point Plan to help your business survive the economic slowdown.

These steps are a starting point for anyone who is worried about the survival of their business.

Get a free health check for your business

The next stage is the 'health check', which takes stock of where your business is currently and looks at what needs to be done to move ahead.

This is in the form of an interactive tool which helps you analyse key areas of your business' finance and administration with the aim of avoiding failure. It can help you work out whether your business could be in trouble, and shows how external business advisers can provide help and expertise.

This tool can only highlight where your business could encounter difficulties. Its conclusion should be used as an indicator only and should be discussed with professional business advisers.

If you identify and tackle any problems early, you will markedly increase the chances of your business surviving and being a success.

You can meet with one of the Advisers at a time and location to suit you. If you prefer you can speak to one of the Advisers on the phone to complete your health check.

Voucher Scheme

Following an online or face-to face healthcheck with a Business Link advisor, an action plan will be discussed and agreed with the business detailing areas where additional support is required. Using Business Link's supplier brokerage database, the advisor will suggest up to three suppliers who may be able to meet the clients needs in the areas identified e.g insolvency, marketing, tax or liquidation advice. The advisor will then supply the business with a voucher which can be redeemed at any of the suppliers on the list.

Due to the current downturn in the economy Business Link have increased the value of these vouchers to £500.

Training Seminars and Workshops

A comprehensive programme of workshops and seminars have been developed which cover subjects like sales and marketing, IT and e-commerce, legislation and customer services amongst others. The events are designed to give businesses a competitive edge and bring measurable improvements to your bottom line.

All these training events are free and delivered locally at sites in Clacton and Colchester.

Anonymous helpline for recession hit business owners

Business Link has launched a helpline that offers anonymity to business owners who want to discuss their business issues without disclosing their identity. Dialling 08453 13 45 10 will put the caller straight through to an experienced information adviser from the service who will provide confidential business support, without asking for contact or identity information.

For further information on services available from Business Link, please visit their website or call 08457 171615.

Response2Redundancy

As part of the Beyond 2010 programme, EEDA and the European Social Fund (ESF) have allocated £2.2 million to the Response2Redundancy (R2R) package. This scheme offers job advice and training to those facing redundancy as well as offering employers subsidies to retrain staff who are to be made redundant.

R2R focuses on providing funding for people to gain qualifications at NVQ 2, 3 or 4 so that they can return to the labour market with something new to offer. It also covers key and basic skills, and runs group sessions on "soft" skills, such as interview techniques and CV preparation.

This programme is managed by The Consultancy Home Counties (TCHC) on behalf of ExDRA (Essex Development and Regeneration Agency).

If you are interested in applying for funding from this scheme please contact Lorraine Gimson at lorraine.gimson@tchc.net.

Job Centre Plus

Recruitment Services - Free support for businesses is available to retain and recruit the right people. From the Vacancy Advertising Service reaching millions of candidates to Local Employment Partnerships working with employers to understand your recruitment and training needs and access the appropriate assistance to help your business grow and prosper.
Contact: Peter Willis
Tel: 01245 214266
Email: peter.willis1@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk
Web: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/employers

Redundancy Support including Rapid Response Service - Working with partners supporting employers who are making people redundant, by helping employees to identify transferable skills, job-focused training to develop vocational skills, CV and job search support, and advice on claiming benefits.
Contact: Karen Downey
Tel: 01245 214265
Email: karen.downey@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk
Web: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/employers

Jobcentre Plus - Jobseeker Services - An online and telephone based service for all customers including those being made redundant. Providing information about alternative jobs, matching to vacancies, CV creation and job searching skills and information about benefits.
Tel: 0845 6060 234
Textphone: 0845 6055 255
Web: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk

For more information on the full range of services that Jobcentre Plus can offer, visit their website.

Bank of Essex

Banking on Essex is the first major municipal banking scheme to be created since 1915 and will see Essex County Council (ECC and Abbey Corporate Banking make available an initial £30 million of new liquidity in loans and overdrafts to viable local businesses through the creation of dedicated credit facilities. The scheme is in direct response to the recession and is designed to support small and medium sized enterprises within Essex currently struggling to access funding through high street providers.

The council sees the move as a shift away from a remote centralised system of banking to one more responsive to local needs.

Loans and overdrafts of up to £100,000 will be available for eligible Essex businesses employing less than 250 people, with a turnover of less than £25m and who have been trading for at least 12 months.

The loans will be handled through a unique partnership between the authority and Abbey Corporate Banking, part of the Santander banking group. The bank will provide the credit and process capability to the partnership, together with a full banking infrastructure.

Businesses wishing to apply for funding should visit Banking on Essex for details on how to apply.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee

The Enterprise Finance Guarantee is a guarantee facility for small businesses intended primarily to improve the availability of working capital through term loans and the consolidation of overdrafts. It will also support lending for business growth and development in cases where a sound proposition may otherwise be declined due to a lack of security.

Loans of between £1000 and £1 million are available through this scheme.

The guarantee will cover the following types of lending:

• new term loans (with terms between one and ten years)
• existing lending where lenders might not otherwise refinance the debt
• conversion of part or all of an existing utilised overdraft into a term loan in order to release capacity in the overdraft to meet working capital requirements (conditional on the lender being prepared to continue to provide an overdraft and the serviceability of both the term loan and the overdraft).

Small businesses in the UK with an annual turnover of up to £25 million are eligible. Loans for most business purposes to businesses in most sectors are eligible. The principal exclusions relate to businesses in the agriculture, coal and steel sectors, and to the financing of individual export orders.

Delivery of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, inclusing the decision on whether or not it is appropriate to use it in connection with any specific lending transaction, is fully delegated to the participating lenders. There is no automatic entitlement to receive it, nor is there any pre-qualification process for it.

Working Capital Guarantee Scheme

The Government is making guarantees of up to £10 billion available to banks, which will support bank lending of up to £20 billion. The purpose of this facility is to release capital which banks can redeploy in order to increase all types of lending abover their current plans to businesses with a turnover of less than £500 million.

Capital for Enterprise Fund

This fund will allow business development by selling debt in exchange for an equity stake in their business. It will cover equity and quasi-equity of £250,000 and £2 million for companies with turnover up to £50 million who have viable business models abd growth potential in need of long term capital.

Trade Credit Insurance Top-Up Scheme

Eligible businesses will be able to purchase "top-up" credit insurance cover under a new scheme which will help businesses whose credit insurance has been reduced by their provider.

Trade Credit Insurance covers businesses against the risk of bad debt due to the insolvency or protracted default of their buyers. It can provide a replacement of working capital when bad debts and late payment impact on cashflow.

The scheme is open to eligible businesses trading in the UK, with a trade credit insurance whole-turnover policy. If your credit limit is reduced you can purchase top-up cover via your existing credit insurance provider who will administer the scheme on the government's behalf.

For further information on any of these schemes visit the Business Link Real Help for Business website.

Designing Demand - Generate

Designing Demand is a compelling package of business support from teh Design Council. It helps businesses discover how to become more innovative, more competitive and more profitable. It does this by giving managers the skills to exploit design by spotting opportunities, briefing designers and running design projects that deliver.

One-day workshops show managers and business advisors how good design makes money. Then, intensive services bring top-level expertise direct to the boardroom to find opportunities and work on projects.

Workshops, services and up to five days' Design Associate support are provided at no charge. The only direct cost is design consultancy fees. Eash design project is different, but as a general guide businesses have seen substantial returns on design investments of between £5000 and £14000.

Businesses can find out more and register for a one-day workshop on the Designing Demand website.

Foundation East

Foundation East is a non-profit distributing organisation that operates across the East of England (comprising Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire).

The organisation is responsible for lending money to new businesses and existing businesses that can't get a loan from a bank or need additional funds to match bank lending.

They offer personal loans in some areas through partnerships with housing associations and other social landlords.

Foundation East also develop Community Land Trusts to enable local people to own and control local assets. This initiative is designed to create affordable housing and managed workspaces, particularly in rural communities. The first working Community Land Trust is Miles Ward Court in Halesworth, Suffolk comprising 8 managed business workspaces.

The business lending terms are flexible and designed to respond to customer need. Typically, the following terms apply:

• Loans between £500 and £50,000
• Loan repayment periods between six months and ten years
• Interest rate 15% (for social enterprises we try to keep the interest rate between 10% and 12%)
• An arrangement fee of 2% (minimum £100) is payable for loans above £3,000. If your loan is for below £3,000 then the fee is fixed at £50. Either way the fee is payable at the start of the loan
• A poor credit history or no credit history at all will NOT automatically exclude a client from borrowing
• Lack of security is not necessarily a barrier to lending.
• Capital repayment holidays may be agreed, where appropriate.

For further information, visit their website or call 01284 757777.

VentureNavigator

VentureNavigator is a free, impartial online service for start-ups, entrepreneurs, and businesses looking to the next stage of growth.

Available 24 hours a day, VentureNavigator has been developed to provide constructive feedback to help you avoid the common pitfalls and problems that many businesses experience.

The information and feedback that you receive will help you take a strategic look at your business plan, your strengths and weaknesses and what you should do next.

VentureNavigator also hosts an online community where you can ask a question and let the experience of others provide the answer.

Doug Richards, one of the founders of VentureNavigator, Chairman of Library House and former "Dragon",has developed 6 Tips for surviving the economic downturn to help businesses identify the key areas to focus on to help survive the recession.

Business Debtline

Business Debtline is a national telephone helpline for the self-employed and small businesses with debt problems in England, Scotland and Wales. The service is free, confidential and independent and has existed since 1992. Business Debtline is now part of the Money Advice Trust (registered charity no. 1099506).

What does Business Debtline do?

The service provides self-help advice to its callers and also produces written self-help packs and fact sheets to back this up. Expert advice on the full range of debt issues from dealing with tax arrears to avoiding repossession of home and business is offered.

The service can also assist callers with the setting up of debt management plans for England & Wales or Scotland through its sister organisation, National Debtline.

Visit the Business Debtline website for further information.