BUSINESS SUPPORT
Are you looking for Business Support?
Let us help connect you with vital business support services.
The current business support environment
Supporting the growth of SMEs is a key policy of the government. Given the scale of the contribution that they make to the economy, there is no doubt that focusing on boosting the growth and productivity of the SME sector could contribute substantially to improvements throughout the whole economy.
Inevitably, however, across a modern, sophisticated economy like the UK, there are a number of areas that require greater focus and attention. Coordinating the supply of business support and advice, in tandem with other public sector providers and the private sector, presents a serious challenge.
There is no doubt that there is a considerable amount of support out there for businesses. Whether they are looking for some advice about digital marketing, a better understanding about how to plan for, and implement, strategies that can help them grow or simply assessing their options for accessing the right type of finance to buy new equipment, there is almost certainly a scheme, provider, programme, fund, policy, strategy, course or event that can help.
However, creating an easily understood, easily navigated and easily accessed support system is a difficult problem.
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• THE HEALTH & SAFETY SERVICE
• THE LEGAL SERVICE
• THE TAX SERVICE
Premium members get:
5 Advice Lines - HR, Health & Safety, Legal, Tax & VAT
3 Document Libraries - HR, Health and Safety, Legal, with nearly 800 free, downloadable templates
Get government help and support for your business
Find free suport, advice and sources of finance through your local Growth Hub. Find yours here.
Business Support Helpline (England)
[email protected]
Telephone: 0800 998 1098
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm (except bank holidays)
Find out about call charges
Speak to an adviser on webchat about your business
The Business Support Helpline for England is also on:
YouTube
Find Business Support Scotland
Telephone: 0300 303 0660
Textphone: 0800 023 2071
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm (except bank holidays)
Find out about call charges
Get help with your business online, or by calling the Business Wales Helpline.
Business Wales Helpline
Telephone: 0300 060 3000
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm (except bank holidays)
Find out about call charges
Find business advice and support. You can also contact the Invest Northern Ireland helpline.
Invest Northern Ireland
Telephone: 0800 181 4422
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm (except bank holidays)
Find out about call charges
Government Support for SME Procurement
Confusing current support ecosystem
Apart from the national government support options listed above you can source advice from:
B2B Prospects
- showcase your PRODUCTS & SERVICES
- promote your OFFERS
- set out your COLLABORATION projects
- post your WANTED quotes
- list your PARTNERSHIP opportunities
Support Schemes on the Government website
Currently, though the number does fluctuate, there are 151 different schemes listed on the gov.uk/business-finance-support site that provide finance, advice and support for businesses throughout the UK.
This is a small subset of all the different types of schemes, programmes, organisations and networks aimed at helping business.
* The total number also includes 6 Recognition awards.
Local Growth Funds
The Towns Fund - introduced in July 2019, is a £3.6 billion programme comprising three separate strands. It targets 101 eligible towns in England to develop "Town Deals" and address issues like ageing populations, limited economic opportunities, and lack of investment. The Fund also includes a further bidding round for towns not selected initially and the Future High Streets Fund, aimed at renewing town centres and high streets.
The Community Renewal Fund - announced in March 2021, was a temporary initiative designed to support communities in piloting programs and new approaches in preparation for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It focused on four investment priorities: skills, local businesses, communities and place, and supporting people into employment. The Fund identified 100 "priority places" based on an index of economic resilience, with bids from these areas prioritized.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) - launched in April 2022, is a £2.6 billion fund intended to reduce inequalities between communities as part of the Government's "levelling up" agenda. It replaces funding previously received from EU Structural Funds. The UKSPF has three investment priorities: communities and place (improving community infrastructure and neighbourhoods), local businesses (increasing job opportunities and business productivity), and people and skills (with the largest part being the Multiply program for adult numeracy). The UKSPF's budget is allocated across core functions, the UK-wide Multiply programme, and centrally retained Multiply activity.
Let BizEquals help you
If you want access to high-quality business support and advice, and easy access to a wide range of business-friendly services, in one place, then BizEquals is for you.
We recognise that not every company is looking to grow quickly. Some may already have been through a period of rapid growth and are looking to consolidate. Others may have designs on growing quickly, to capture new opportunities in new markets, whether nationally or internationally.
Our goal is to help busy B2B SMEs find everything they need to help them achieve their business goals. Whether growing rapidly or happily stable, it's great to find that helping hand when needed.
Explore our three marketplaces
Our marketplaces target three of the main areas that SMEs consistently say hold them back from being able to grow and be more productive.
Find all the apps, products and services that will save you time and money, and help you focus on making your business even more successful.
Scaleups - helping drive growth and productivity
33,995
scaleup companies
£28.24m
average turnover
26% increase
since 2013
50%
of the total SME economy
3.1 million
jobs
42%
productivity premium
Scaleup - a company that has averaged annualised growth of 20% in the last 3 years with at least 10 employees
Scaleups are the most innovative and productive SMEs. In 2020, the latest figures from the ONS, they contributed £1.2 trillion to the economy, 50% of the total contribution by all SMEs. This is despite being only 0.6% of the total SME population. They are estimated to be 42% more productive than their peers.
According to 'Scaling Beyond Frontiers - Scaleup Annual Review 2022', the latest ONS figures from 2020 show that the scaleup economy actually managed to grow slightly, despite the impact of covid. Despite a myriad of concerns, in the ScaleUp Insitute's 2022 survey, an overwhelming majority of scaleup CEOs (90%) still expect to grow in 2023, 80% expect to grow turnover, and 70% expect to increase their workforce.
However, they also made clear that several barriers and pain points remain to scaling further. Three-quarters see Access to Markets, whether domestic or international, as the most significant challenge. It is closely followed by Access to Talent and Access to Growth Capital. They are clear that enterprise agencies and growth hubs have value, and want to further improve the engagement from financiers, advisors and universities.
The focus on exporting remains, with the majority currently exporting and wanting to export further, including to Australasia, the Middle East, China and India. They still need better help finding overseas partners and customers, and the joined up support required t make this happen.
Scaleups also want to achieve greater penetration into the public sector market, as well as improve collaboration with the government. They think that the current system still contains too much friction, is difficult to navigate, and lacks clarity.
Regarding finance, they remain much heavier users than their SME peers and, in particular, VCs and Angels are key sources of equity. Half still think they do not have sufficient capital to meet their current growth path and feel that too little funding is available outside London and the South East.
Factors associated with increased scaleup growth
Higher levels of skills
Building clusters and hubs
Access to equity finance
Key factors identified by local leaders to develop higher scaleup growth
Knowledge Sharing
Active peer networks, strong local supply chains, access to qualified non-exec board members
University Engagement
Providing relevant training, research collaboration, scaleup graduate interaction
Local Ambition
Collective ambition, ability to tap into good will of stakeholders and other local resources
Why not consider our Premium member package?
worth up to £1,000
FREE Business Support
Five advice lines - HR, Legal, Health & Safety, Tax and VAT
3 Document Libraries – HR, Legal, Health & Safety containing almost 800 templated documents
Plus a free 1-to-1 meeting to understand how these services can support you
up to 20% off
Dell Technologies
BizEquals is proud to partner with Dell UK Ltd to provide a range of discounts on selected IT and other benefits for our Premium members.
These include:
- Up to 20% discount off laptops, desktops, servers, and accessories
- Access to highly trained Small Business Technology Advisors
- Dedicated account manager
50% off for 6 months
Pipedrive
Pipedrive is the #1 rated sales-focused CRM
With a BizEquals Premium package, you will receive a 30-day free trial, and 50% off for the first 6 months on any package.
Designed for businesses of any size, it helps you streamline your sales process, gain valuable insights about your data, and drive sales success.
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