Funded business support

As you may be aware, funding for the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership will cease in March 2024. But the Growth Hub & Growth Champion services are still available & free of charge for qualifying businesses throughout the Gatwick Diamond, providing business advice, support and strategic leadership to help small and medium sized enterprises drive sustainable business success.

Malcolm Brabon & Jeremy Taylor have recently been appointed as Interim Business Account Managers and, along with the rest of the Growth Hub Team and the Growth Champions, they would welcome the opportunity to help gdb members with their growth ambitions.

We can help by identifying barriers to your growth and direct you to solutions from the very wide range of support available including funding, support programmes or specialists.

To benefit from this funding the

There is no UK sector not heavily reliant on technology and that reliance is increasing enormously every year and the Sussex Tech Week has arrived to consolidate, organise and support every tech firm in Sussex. Wired Sussex is a not-forprofit organisation and is the voice of the Tech, Digital and Media sectors across Sussex, along with the Brighton Fuse Box, a collaborative R&D space supporting digital entrepreneurs, tech visionaries and creative technologists with bold ideas.

The Dome Concert Hall will be running the main stage with events, speeches, discussion panels, new product launches, government strategy sessions and much more, the beautifully restored Corn Exchange will house a major exhibition featuring national and international companies, the Founders Room will be home to the Tech Angel Investment Network with over £10 million of investment funds available, and the Studio Theatre will be running the second stage. business needs to be established for more than 2 years, trading and have recovery and growth potential.

Sussex Tech Week is a partnership between Wired Sussex, Platinum Media Group, the Brighton Dome and the Digital Catapult with many more partners to be announced on December 1st.

A range of exciting sponsorship, support and exhibition packages are available and for more information, please contact INFO@PLATINUMMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK to be involved in the most exciting tech and digital event ever to take place in Sussex.

You can also access Growth Champions network of expert consultants across all fields. We can fully fund a day of specialist support from this network.

Following a diagnostic review our Business Account Managers will be able to facilitate an introduction to an appropriate Growth Champion to meet your needs who will:

• Identify obstacles

• Set priorities

• Create strategies & tactics for growth

• Signpost to relevant, local initiatives & organisations for support jeremy.taylor@c2cbusiness.org.uk malcolm.brabon@c2cbusiness.org.uk

Let your contacts know so they can access the Government money that has been allocated to the Region.

To register for funded business support, advice and guidance please ask them to register at www.c2cbusiness.org.uk/contact-us and then one of the team will be in touch.

We’d be happy to discuss further and we look forward to working with you.

Enabling Independent Living At Home

Kingsway Care were overwhelmed to be crowned ‘Business of the Year’ (up to £1million) at the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2023. So who are we and what do we do?

Kingsway Care is the number one home care provider across coastal Sussex, offering a full range of Home Care services to enable our older and/or disabled clients to remain independent at home. Whether they need temporary or long-term care, we can support them to maintain their independence from age 18+ to 100 years old and beyond!

Transforming Clients’ Lives

Every Day: We have a proven track record of transforming Clients’ lives. For example, with Louis, our 21-year-old Paralympian Client, Kingsway Care support him to enjoy his independence while studying at Sussex University. By consolidating all his care needs into a two-hour daily visit, he feels freer and more independent without a live-in carer "cramping his style". We have loved witnessing Louis’s confidence and independence soar!

The Kingsway Care Personal Touch: One of our CareGivers mentioned a long-time Client didn’t have any Christmas decorations. Our founder, Olly, is a huge fan of www.kingswaycare.com

Christmas, so he personally delivered and decorated a Christmas tree for June. Furthermore, we organised a private concert with our ‘Care Sectors Got Talent’ finalist, Jonathan, performing Christmas tunes in her living room. Sadly, June recently passed away but her team of ‘Yellow Angels’ CareGivers were proud to be the pallbearers on her final journey.

Leaders in the Care Sector: We look beyond Kingsway Care and regularly speak out on the importance of respecting the invaluable work carers perform, as well as the need to professionalise the home care sector, making it an attractive career of choice. A well-paid, respected care workforce is essential for the benefit of everyone, as we’ve witnessed nearly everyone will need care for themselves or a loved one. And who wouldn’t want their care to be first class?

Multi-Award-Winning Marketing Agency, Creative Pod Acquires Local Design Agency in Brighton & Hove, 2 Up Front

Southeast, is thrilled to announce its recent acquisition of 2 Up Front, a 15-year-old, highly-regarded local design agency in Hove.

With this strategic move, Creative Pod has acquired 2 Up Front, taking on their clientele, and has seen the addition of two talented professionals to their growing team. Ian Highland is joining Creative Pod as a Senior Designer, and Megan Godber as an Account Manager.

2 Up Front primarily focuses on providing digital design, print, and branding and over 15 years, they have built a loyal client base. As part of this merger, Creative Pod will offer an even more comprehensive range of services, covering all aspects of branding, design, marketing and strategy, all under one roof, and all for a fixed monthly fee.

Creative Pod, an award-winning, fullservice marketing agency renowned for its innovative approach and numerous industry accolades in the

Matt Turner, the CEO of Creative Pod, said: “This acquisition marks a significant milestone in Creative Pod's journey. In the last couple of years, we have progressed from being a small sized agency, to a medium sized one, and with this we have seen continued growth, and commitment from the team in delivering Michelin-star marketing solutions to our clients in the Southeast and beyond.”

MHA VAT Team Lands in Gatwick

MHA is new to Gatwick, having opened a new office at the start of 2023, but we are by no means new to helping businesses deal with the problems that VAT throws at them.

I am a VAT specialist with over 30 years’ experience advising businesses on their VAT obligations. I have a team of 8 VAT specialists in Kent Gatwick region and we are part of MHA’s national VAT and customs duty practice which comprises more than 20 specialists. We want to help businesses in Sussex and Surrey avoid nasty VAT surprises.

For many businesses, VAT doesn’t present too much of a problem. VAT is charged on sales at 20% and VAT incurred on costs is recovered. Simples! However, for some businesses VAT is very difficult indeed. For example, tour operators use what’s called the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme (or TOMS for short) to calculate how much

VAT they owe, and the scheme is not easy to operate. Financial services and insurance sector businesses also struggle to get their VAT right because although they don’t charge VAT, they cannot claim VAT on their costs. VAT isn’t so easy for construction businesses who have to deal with deciding if they need to charge VAT on a project or not. If they get it wrong HMRC will probably make them pay penalties.

Don’t worry though because we can help you. We advise businesses in all sectors from electronics to entertainment and hotels to healthcare. We can help if you have a dispute with HMRC, if you are having trouble importing goods into the UK or if you don’t know whether you should charge VAT on your supplies. Please contact us. We’d be happy to talk through any VAT issues you have.

Contact:

Nick York, Founder and CEO 2 Up Front, said: It’s been an absolute pleasure getting this deal over the line with Matt. I honestly don’t think I could have found a better and more suitable agency to look after my staff and clients, allowing me to enjoy pastures new. Thank you!”.

If you would like to work with Creative Pod and find out more about their services, please visit their website and get in touchwww.creativepod.uk.com

Sue Rathmell sue.rathmell@mha.co.uk

IT’S MORE THAN JUST A FLIGHT