Free time for City BusinessesFebruary 06 2008
Business support fund through the gift of their time
We busy professionals at the sharp end of Yorkshire business are used to having a premium price charged for our time and expertise. But there are a great many projects out there whose success could well depend on our help and experience and for which we could quite reasonably attach a very different price tag – one which says “Good luck. This is for free.”.
I’d been an accountant for 25 years, and a Partner at the Chartered Accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers Horwath Clark Whitehill for 16 of them when I was asked to join a board of volunteer members of the Leeds and Bradford-based Business Enterprise Fund.
The Fund, as readers of these business pages will know, is helping economically disadvantaged people to establish themselves in successful commercial enterprises. Projects which can not attract funding from the traditional sources such as the high street banks can apply to the Fund.
Like most people with a heavy workload, you have to have a pretty good reason to be persuaded to spare the time to get involved in unpaid projects. But it’s definitely worth thinking about the bigger picture. One very good reason is that it is rewarding to play a useful role - in other words making sure the funding reaches the right sort of businesses and isn’t simply thrown away.
The fact that busy people are willing to bring their expertise to committees like these, and to give their time for no financial reward demonstrates their confidence in the important role that initiatives like the Business Enterprise Fund play in the region’s economy. The advice and scrutiny these committee members bring is pivotal in making sure that the money goes to where it can make a real difference.
Committee members bring their own particular expertise – and a degree of common sense – to the discussions. Whilst it is an important role, the time commitment is not too onerous. We don’t meet just for the sake of it. We are keen to have other people come forward to help us maintain an appropriate number. The bigger the pool of people we have to draw from, the more manageable the process will be for the team.
It’s not just accountants who are needed to keep this important organisation running. Bank managers, regeneration managers, entrepreneurs and others skilled in business all have something to give – and “give” is the important word. This is giving something back into the economy from which we all get our living.
The fund’s role isn’t just about considering applications for loans, but also about mentoring the successful applicants and keeping in close contact with them with a view to helping their business succeed. The Business Enterprise Fund is significant in that it offers help to people who would not be able to source funding elsewhere, in order to establish themselves in businesses.
Even if only a relatively small proportion of them go on to become substantial businesses, the fund is helping to create the right conditions for these businesses to help sustain and improve the local economy. If it wasn’t for the fund, it would be very difficult for these businesses to get off the ground.
So why not come on board and spend a bit of “free” time helping others get a kickstart on the road to business success?
Government further backs BEFFebruary 06 2008
BEF accredited with the status of provider of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme
CHANGES TO ENCOURAGE MORE INVESTMENT IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES ANNOUNCED
New measures to boost the amount of finance raised and channelled into new and expanding businesses in disadvantaged areas have been announced by the government today.
The changes are designed to strengthen the ability of organisations, known as community development finance institutions (CDFIs), to attract private investment. In turn, these organisations provide access to finance for enterprises in disadvantaged communities that have been turned down by mainstream providers like banks.
Enterprise Minister Shriti Vadera said:
“By allowing more community development finance institutions to lend with the backing of government secured loans, we are improving the options available to small businesses looking for finance. Together, these changes will enable the community development finance sector to attract greater private investment, increase access to finance, and foster enterprise in the most disadvantaged communities in the UK.”
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle said:
“CDFIs’ work in extending finance to economically disadvantaged areas is invaluable in helping our attempts to reduce the disparities in economic performance across the UK and draw on the full potential of everyone in our country. I am pleased to announce changes to the Community Investment Tax Relief that will make them work even better.”
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
“CDFIs can get into those places which mainstream finance can’t or won’t reach, financing thousands of enterprises, jobs and households in disadvantaged communities. We want to improve the way Community Investment Tax Relief works - because we’re committed to supporting innovative social investment models in the long term. We know such models help social enterprise to thrive, thereby creating social and economic value.”
BEF Supports Big in BusinessDecember 13 2007
Big in Business is a new project aimed at helping disadvantaged young people.
The Business Enterprise Fund is supporting a new project, Big in Business, to help disadvantaged young people gain valuable skills and experience. It is a joint project with Bradford City Centre Project and will run for 12 weeks from January 9th 2008. The project will educate a group of 12 young people in basic job skills and support them in exploring the possibilities of self-employment.
Do we lose on Capital Gains TaxOctober 15 2007
Industry's view of changes to Capital Gains Tax
Bradford Telegraph And Argus
After the turbulence of the markets, the autumn General Election which never happened and a tumultuous party conference season, Alistair Darling’s pre-budget report was never going to be easy.
His pledge to slash the chief rate of corporation tax by 2p in the pound to 28 per cent by next year will have certainly found favour.
However the Chancellor has found himself in the position of coming under fire from both union and business leaders over his proposals, particularly those regarding capital gains tax which some have said will stifle the growth of new businesses.
Mr Darling’s plans mean that all capital gains will be subject to a flat rate charge of 18 per cent, replacing the old sliding scale which varied between ten and 40 per cent.
The move, however, has met with criticism from business leaders.
John Cridland, deputy director-general of the CBI, for example, described it as disappointing’ and warned that it “may lead to a reduction in investment in start-up and growing businesses”.
At a time when Bradford is in the middle of a £21.4 million programme to encourage a new generation of start-up firms, the prospect of increased taxation levels may be alarming to many.
However Steve Waud, Director of the Bradford based Business Enterprise Fund, which lends cash and provides support to small enterprises which might be turned down for a commercial loan, said he did not anticipate the measures having an adverse effect on those considering starting their own enterprise.
“For the vast majority of ordinary Joes like you and I this is not going to affect us unless we are planning to sell the business,” he said.
“I really do not think it will stifle entrepreneurialism or be detrimental to start-up businesses. The only people it will be detrimental to will be serial entrepreneurs who may find they have less money to start the next business when they sell up.”
Bradford accountancy firm Howarth Clarke Whitehill said the abolishment of so called Capital Gains Tax Taper Relief from April had effectively hung up the For Sale’ signs on hundreds of British businesses.
Peter Geldeard, tax partner at the firm, suggested a delay in the move for an additional 12 months would enable business owners who were thinking of selling to take their time with any deals.
“This would help to safeguard the jobs of people employed in those businesses and provide a reasonable window of opportunity to ensure business owners realised the full value of their lifetime’s work.”
His colleague Tim Parr, who is also a committee member with the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants, echoed his views saying: “Whether this first Pre Budget Report will be judged a success will totally depend on the delivery of the commitments promised by the Chancellor.
“Simplification of the tax system - and indeed an overhaul of much of the legislation currently burdening business - is to be welcomed but the real test will be the speed and actions taken to bring real change. Those changes are vital for maintaining British business and its future in global markets.”
Bradford Chamber’s President, Balbir Panesar, gave a mixed reaction and questioned whether the rises in the transport budget would result in any additional funding for Yorkshire.
He said: “The recent credit crunch and last week’s headlines over inheritance tax has inevitably led to these matters dominating the announcements.
“As such we feel a little disappointed - but not too surprised - that the event didn’t include more measures to either shore up the fortunes of business or take steps to weather the expected economic downturn.”
Yorkshire Bank’s director of economic research, Tom Vosa, speculated that the current state of the economy may mean that interest rate levels are likely to remain static until next Spring.
He said: “Given the strong growth environment already in the UK, it is hard to see how the change in the fiscal stance will encourage the MPC to any early cut in interest rates, we continue to believe that the Committee will wait until May 2008 before easing policy.
£1.4 million Loan Fund in LeedsJuly 19 2007
Leeds Credit union and Business Enterprise Fund work together to provide a £1.4 million loan fund
£1.4 million loan fund lends Leeds entrepreneurs
a helping hand
A £1.4 million loan fund has been created to help entrepreneurs in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Leeds set up and grow their own businesses. The fund will competitive business loans for individuals and businesses unable to access finance through traditional sources such as banks and building societies.
It has been created by the Leeds LEGI (Local Enterprise Growth Initiative) programme in partnership with the Business Enterprise Fund and Leeds City Credit Union, to encourage enterprise in some of the city’s poorest communities.
Recent research suggests that residents in areas such as Harehills, Beeston, Chapeltown and Gipton face difficulty obtaining loans from the usual high street lenders. As a result many turn to doorstep lenders who charge much higher interest rates, and this could be costing the local economy as much as £9.5 million per year.
Working with Leeds City Credit Union, £1 million of the total loan fund has been allocated to provide help exclusively for start up businesses in disadvantaged areas of the city. The fund will offer loans of up to £5,000 to help entrepreneurs get the first step on the business ladder.
Leeds City Council’s ‘Exclusion to Inclusion’ report interviewed residents from some of the poorest areas in the city and found that 20% of people interviewed would be interested in taking out a business loan but can’t access the high street lenders due to poor credit histories, bankruptcy, or high levels of existing debt.
Over the next three years the credit union is expecting to give over 200 of the new loans to would-be entrepreneurs at a comparatively low interest rate. The loans target people who might normally pay interest rates as high as 300% APR due to poor credit ratings.
Sue Davenport, chief executive of Leeds City Credit Union commented:
“There are many talented people living in these communities who have a real business idea but in the current market have no way of realising their goal. The new loans that we are offering will allow them to break down the first of many barriers to starting their own business.”
The Business Enterprise Fund will also be offering competitive loans in association with the Leeds LEGI programme. The Business Enterprise Fund targets start up and expanding businesses, which are unable to access finance through high street lenders.
With £400,000 dedicated to this project, the Business Enterprise Fund can ensure that all businesses taking out a loan with them will also have access to a business mentor who work with them to develop business management skills. The loans provided by the Business Enterprise Fund start from £5,000.
Stephen Waud, Fund Director at the Business Enterprise Fund commented:
“The scheme is designed to support those businesses who have been unable to secure the funding they need from high street banks. Many businesses fail because they have a fantastic product but poor business management skills and are unable or unaware of how to deal with business issues such as changing markets and increased competition. The mentors help to explain situations and offer practical help in the running of their businesses. This includes book keeping, marketing advice and some legal support”
Both loan schemes are supported financially by the Leeds LEGI programme, but they will be delivered by the Business Enterprise Fund and Leeds City Credit Union.
Leeds has been awarded £15.6 million funding over the next three years to help develop enterprise, create new jobs and boost prosperity in the city’s most disadvantaged communities. By 2010, the programme aims to create over 500 new businesses within areas of greatest disadvantage in Leeds.
Richard Mansell, chair of Leeds LEGI programme board, added:
“The next three years will be an exciting time for Leeds. With the LEGI investment we will be able to make a real and lasting difference to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the city. The projects that we are undertaking are about raising aspirations and providing opportunities that help people to succeed in business through creating a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship.”
To arrange a consultation with Leeds City Credit Union call 0113 214 5254 and for the Business Enterprise Fund call 01274 207 217.
See the following link http://www.leedsfinancialservices.org.uk/LFSI/news.aspx?NewsID=308&TabID=4&MenuID=1
In the Press
Free time for City Businesses
Business support fund through the gift of their time
Government further backs BEF
BEF accredited with the status of provider of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme
BEF Supports Big in Business
Big in Business is a new project aimed at helping disadvantaged young people.
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