South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

SEEDA is supporting business

Click here for our full 'Open
for Business' brochure

SEEDA delivers the Business Link in the South East as the access channel for business support across the region :

• free Business Health Checks
• access to finance advice, credit crunch presentations and finance clinics,
• guidance and events on how to survive and thrive in difficult times, reducing energy consumption and costs,
• access to the SEEDA funded Resource Efficiency programme,
• access to a specialist skills assessment and the new, more flexible, Train to Gain service,
• analysis and information on new business opportunities and markets.

New financial support measures announced by SEEDA in August 2008, amount to at least £15m for small businesses across the South East, including the £10m Rapid Rescue Response package.

For further information on the measures detailed below, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 unless otherwise stated.

Helping businesses access finance
Encouraging investment
Helping businesses trade overseas
Robust business development
Support for inward investment
Tackling redundancy

HELPING BUSINESSES TO ACCESS FINANCE

For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 unless otherwise stated.

Transition Loan Fund

SEEDA is providing up to £3m in a new Regional Transition Fund known as the Bridging Mezzanine Debt Fund to be directed at fully established, viable and growing businesses who are currently facing difficulties in obtaining credit through banks and other traditional routes.

Funding is provided at commercial rates for these unsecured loans, and interest is rolled up and paid at maturity, thereby making the Fund attractive to some businesses urgently needing to address liquidity problems.

For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006, or Finance South East on 01276 608 510.

Commercialisation Fund

This new fund of up to £3 million supports businesses with high growth potential to bring new products and services to market. It forms part of the £20 million South East Funding Escalator. For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006, or Finance South East on 01276 608 510.

Finance for larger businesses
Help for large South East businesses with turnovers up to £500 million a year is available through the Government's Working Capital Guarantee Scheme . This is the first financial support package for larger businesses. It is a national scheme that provides banks with guarantees covering 50% of the risk on working capital credit, ensuring £20 billion business lending. The scheme starts on 1 March 2009.

ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT

 For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 unless otherwise stated.

Grant for Business Investment (GBI)

Capital grants under the GBI scheme have been extended to the entire South East for eligible SMEs with long-term viability whose investment plans are being held up by current economic conditions.

HELPING BUSINESSES TRADE OVERSEAS

 For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 unless otherwise stated.

Passport to Export
An enhanced ‘Passport to Export' package, for R&D intensive businesses, will include help with securing overseas growth and additional training in exploiting intellectual property and open innovation. The scheme offers a n advanced package of support to all 1500 South East businesses which have graduated from Passport to Export.

UKTI's International Trade Sector Advisors

SEEDA has added a new International Trade Sector Advisor to the existing team UKTI of International Trade Sector Advisors to cover the defence sector, servicing the estimated 950 defence related companies in the South East.

Research Initiative

Extensive research is being carried out by the 7 Sector Consortia to enable them to identify the global markets and sectors offering the best trading opportunities for their members.

ROBUST BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

 For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 unless otherwise stated.

‘Immerse' Initiative

SEEDA is introducing and funding a new programme, Immerse, which provides intensive, extended design support to selected larger businesses. Immerse is part of the ‘Designing Demand' programmes.

Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS)

SEEDA has enabled the Manufacturing Advisory Service to meet the increased demand for its lean innovation programmes. EEF, the MAS provider in the South East, will be surveying all previous beneficiaries to ascertain whether further support is needed.

SUPPORT FOR INWARD INVESTMENT

 For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 unless otherwise stated.

International Trade Mentor

International Trade Mentors are to be allocated to every new or recent inward investor in the South East.

‘Soft Landing' Programme

The ‘Soft Landing' programme is a new programme for inward investors, currently being piloted through Locate in Kent .

TACKLING REDUNDANCY

For further information, please contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 unless otherwise stated.

Continuing Employment Support Service (CESS)

CESS, a joint SEEDA / Jobcentre Plus programme, works in partnership with main government agencies and offers a free, tailored, in-house package of support to all affected workers before they leave their employment, thus negating the need in many cases to access benefits.

Support includes:

• Advice on pensions and state benefits, including preserving their national insurance contributions,
• Workshops and one to ones regarding careers advice (detailing the varied options that are available)
• CV writing and interview technique advice
• Support to retrain (includes financial, dependant on existing qualifications)
• Advice and potential financial support to set up owner-enterprises and self employment options and...
• Direct access to companies locally that are hiring.

For more information on the service, please contact:
Janine Hobbs, telephone: 01483 470 169.

Or our CESS brokers:
Sarah Young, telephone: 07776 227 160
Graeme Carey, telephone: 07876 790 918

Train to Gain
The Train to Gain scheme is being expanded to incorporate those facing redundancy as well as those currently in work.

The £350m boost to national Train to Gain funds includes a more flexible training offer specifically for small and medium enterprises. This comprises 138 bit-sized units or qualifications in ten business critical areas:

• Business Improvement techniques
• Business Systems/processes
• Team working/Communications
• Customer service
• New product design
• Finance and credit
• Cash flow and profit management
• Risk management
• Marketing and sales
• IT user/IT support

For further information, please contact a Train to Gain Skills Broker on 0845 751 2288.