Businesses across Wales are set to reap the benefits of up to £3 billion in European Union funding.

West Wales and the Valleys has become the first region in Britain to have its EU Structural Fund programme legally adopted, leading the way for massive investment during the period 2007 to 2013.

Around £570 million will be ploughed into a Convergence programme for West Wales and the Valleys, as a successor to the previous Objective 1 funding programme carried out between 2000 and 2006.

The European Development Fund (ERDF) will also provide an additional £856 million to support research and innovation, tackle climate change, and regenerate deprived communities.

Other new initiatives in the pipeline include the East Wales Regional Competitiveness scheme and an Employment programme.

Announcing the windfall in Swansea, First Minister Rhodri Morgan, said:

“We are now in a position to move forward with a seven-year plan to continue Wales’ transformation into a dynamic, thriving nation.

“In line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas of sustainable jobs and growth, we will be taking action to encourage full employment with quality jobs, as well as helping to ensure the growth and expansion of our businesses.”

Ieuan Wyn Jones, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, said:

“Our aim is to ensure that Wales continues to progress towards competitive, sustainable economic development.

“We want to create long-term, high quality jobs as well as providing the right environment to enable businesses to flourish and expand.”

The first round of projects set to benefit from the funding are due to be approved within the next couple of months.

Previous rounds of European Structural funds had seen more than £1.5 billion allocated in Wales to almost 3,000 separate projects.

Source: Welsh Assembly Government, 20/09/2007

More on Grant Funding

John

Why do I need a business plan?

A business plan is necessary for three primary reasons:

• It gives business owners a current assessment of the business as well as a roadmap for the future.
• It helps a business grow, both organically and through outside funding.
• It is essential to have an up to date business plan in order to secure financing, ranging from an overdraft facility or bank loan to venture capital and business angel funding.

A business plan is a tool for decision making - remember this and remember who it is written for - then design it to suit.

The business plan is a living document that should be continuously reviewed in light of the business environment and actual performance. This enables the directors to oversee business performance.

When to use outside help

For a business plan to be effective those who will have to implement it should own it. So, it cannot just be delegated to a consultant. But an experienced business facilitator can add value to the process, whilst ensuring that ownership is in-house.

Objectives

The objectives of the business plan are first to develop and communicate a plan of action that will achieve the company’s strategic objective. Then to provide a means of monitoring progress towards that objective and of stimulating alternative action if the objective is unlikely to be met by the original plan. These cannot be achieved unless the plan defines the strategic objective and includes benchmarks or performance measures at key stages during the year.

The planning process

The planning process is a valuable and exciting exercise that can be a major contributor to team building and a means of developing ownership/commitment to the plan. Involve people, it should end up as “our plan” not “their plan imposed on us”. There are various exercises that can be helpful in the planning process:

• Analysis of current year financial results
• SWOT analysis - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• MOST analysis
• Brainstorming - for alternative scenarios, opportunities, strategies
• Profit & Loss and Cash flow forecastsIf the company provides different services or operates in different niche markets these exercises should be checked for each.

John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

It is a question we are often asked and the short answer is that there may be several different options available to raise money for your business.

You may be eligible to apply to the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme - if your business is under 5 years old and you have no (or very few) assets available to use as security then contact us for a FREE assessment of your eligibility.  We can help with applications above £30,000.

Perhaps you would prefer to have Business Angels Investment in your business - this is when a high net worth individual (Private Investor) or a syndicated group puts money into your business in return for shares.  Business Angels investment typically ranges between £50,000 and £1m, you will need a strong management team and an investor-ready business plan.

If your company has assets - perhaps plant or machinery - or stock it may be possible to raise money through sale-and-lease-back or asset finance.  Asset finance and leasing is likley to require security or personal guarantees.

Factoring or Invoice Discounting could improve your cash flow and provide your company with additional working capital that can be used to grow your business organically.  Factoring works by raising funds within 24 hours of raising an invoice rather than having to wait the 30, 60 or 90 days for your creditors to pay.

If your business supplies goods to a purchase order then trade finance may be a solution you want to consider.  If you are purchasing the goods from overseas or the orders are seasonal and larger than you usually handle you may find it difficult to find the working capital to pay for the goods upfront.  Trade Finance works much like factoring but at an earlier stage in the process. 

If you think that any of these finance tools could be of use to you then call us for a chat on 0845 838 0936 or email us.

business finance, business angels, unsecured business loan, factoring, invoice discounting, trade finance, asset finance, leasing, business funding  

The “Investor Fair” is held in London every Spring and Autumn. The next Investor Fair will be held on Tuesday 9th May 2006. Contact us now for more information.

This prestigious event has recently drawn nearly 200 active investors to meet with clients on the day. Investors are likely to be syndicate members, VCT’s, small institutions and some wealthy High Net Worth individuals.

Last Autumn’s “Investor Fair” was filmed by BBC TV for the “Working Lunch” business programme. One client at that fair received two offers of investment, and that was before the company was subsequently featured on BBC TV’s “Trouble at the Top”. Fair clients have also appeared on BBC2’s “Dragon’s Den”.

The “Investor Fair” is limited to 30 clients, who can be from any sector and at any stage of development, on a first come-first-served basis.

The “Investor Fair” can be a stand-alone method of reaching potential investors or, even better, used as part of the full Business Angel service which gives you access to nearly 1500 angel syndicates, VCT’s, small institutions and HNW individuals in the largest Angel network in Europe.

www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk/angel-investor-fair.htm

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

Funding: BUSINESS ANGELS - SMALL FIRMS LOAN GUARANTEES - GRANTS
Marketing: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION - MARKETING - NEW PRODUCTS
Strategy: STRATEGY - BUSINESS PLANNING - WORKSHOPS

investor, fair, investment, funding, UK, London, VC, venture capital, business angels, Dragon’s Den, Working Lunch, Trouble at the Top, BBC, TV, VCT, syndicate

Plans have to be angled differently according to the target readership, and this is true more of the Business Angel market than anything else. They have buttons that need pressing…do you know what they are?  The guide is FREE, no strings. Just email me at john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk with your email address and I will email the guide by return.

Extra! When the plan is drafted, I will review it FREE and let you know whether I think Business Angels might be interested in investing. No obligation to use me or my company.

John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk/business_angels.htm

business, angels, funding, finance, plan, free, investor, investment

Dear Introducer,

Thank you for your interest in Strategy Consulting Limited. Our website will provide you with an overview of the services that we are able to offer your clients, and I invite you to browse around and familiarise yourself with them.

I have personally been a Company Director of SME’s for over 25 years, and I have used the services of various intermediaries. I have learned that quick, efficient and knowledgeable service, together with good communication, are the keys to client satisfaction.We work with many different types of introducers - from consultants and lawyers to accountants and entrepreneurs.

We like to work closely with our introducers in order to provide the best service to your clients, whether that be for finance or consultancy advice. Needless to say, we provide a share of our income to our introducers and have an efficient in-house tracking system which will keep you updated and ensure that you are paid.

I hope that you will accept my invitation to try our service and that it delivers you the ability to generate extra income and offer additional products to your clients, helping you to offer a complete service for most circumstances.

My friendly and efficient team responsible for liaising with introducers is lead by my Marketing Director, Kath Dawson MBA and my Sales Director, Stephanie Iles. More details of our Introducers scheme is available from Kath or Stephanie on 0845 838 0936 or you can simply click here and one of them will call you.

I look forward to working with you and I hope we exceed your expectations. John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

introducer, introduction, commission, fees, funding, finance, strategy, marketing, business, angels, SFLG, bank, loan, consultancy, SEO

From Growth Business…

MTI Partners, one of the leading venture capital firms providing risk capital to early-stage technology companies, won the coveted Venture Capital Fund of the Year at the recent Investor AllStars Awards, the pre-eminent awards ceremony for the UK technology venture capital industry.

Full article here

Are you seeing greater interest in technology projects, your own or others?

Is this dot com boom mark II? I don’t think so, but technology is high on the agenda of VC’s and also the Business Angels that I deal with daily.

John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

Funding: BUSINESS ANGELS - SMALL FIRMS LOAN GUARANTEES - GRANTS - PROPERTY FINANCE - FACTORINGStrategy: BUSINESS STRATEGY - BUSINESS PLANNING - WORKSHOPS - NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

Marketing: MARKETING STRATEGY - NEW PRODUCTS - TELEMARKETING - SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION

technology, internet, venture capital, VC, business angels, funding, finance, UK

Factoring and invoice discounting (known as debtor finance) can dramatically improve your cash flow by releasing money as soon as you have completed an order and raised an invoice rather than having to wait for your customer to pay. This makes them ideal for funding growth. Because it’s linked to sales, factoring or invoice discounting is ideal if your business does not have the financial track record or security available to negotiate sufficient overdraft facilities.

A key advantage is flexibility. The amount you can borrow grows in line with sales and it is often possible for you to repay bank facilities and release previously pledged security.

Typically, when factoring is set up you can borrow about 80% of the value of your approved invoices less than 90-120 days old. Thereafter, cash will be made available against invoices on a daily basis with the remaining 20%, less charges, once the value of the invoice has been collected. Once the system is established, the level of advance you receive against invoices depends on a number of issues, but can rise as high as 100%.

Once in place, there is no limit to the amount you can borrow as the finance is linked directly to sales. This is in sharp contrast to bank overdrafts, which require regular re-negotiation and arrangement fees.

The cost of such a facility is normally up to 3% over base rate for the money borrowed together with a service charge linked to gross turnover of at least 0.5% depending upon the level of annual sales, the number invoices raised and how many live accounts are on the sales ledger. Small addition charges are often made for extra services such as credit insurance.

factoring, invoice discounting, debtor finance

Marketing: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION - MARKETING - NEW PRODUCTS
Funding: BUSINESS ANGELS - SMALL FIRMS LOAN GUARANTEES - GRANTS
Strategy: STRATEGY - BUSINESS PLANNING - WORKSHOPS