Lets Grow

ARE YOU READY YORKSHIRE? LET’S GROW! In association with

SPECIAL FEATURE AIMING FOR A BIGGER SLICE Spotlighting two businesses with aspirations

LET’S MAKE A DIFFERENCE Nigel Pulling is looking for impact and value for money

A GAME CHANGER

Alastair MacColl explains how Let’s Grow creates prosperity

WELCOME

SUMMER 15

LET’S BE AMBITIOUS AND LET’S GROW The hugely successful Let’s Grow programme, which awards Regional Growth Fund money to boost job creation, is coming to Yorkshire!

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Let’s Grow North & East Yorkshire has been given £4 million from the Regional Growth Fund’s round 6 programme to share out between now and March 2017. It is expected the money will help generate 400 jobs and will leverage around £28m of private sector investment.

This is great news for growing businesses across the area. It will help them realise their ambitions, support their expansion and create the job opportunities that underpin the local economy.

The money will be awarded to businesses which submit an application because they are investing in expansion, R&D, training and employment in North Yorkshire, City of York and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The programme will be delivered by Business & Enterprise Commercial Limited (BEC), part of the BE Group, in partnership with Clive Owen LLP chartered accountants, and is an extension of a £60m Let’s Grow in the North East, which received funding in RGF round 3 and round 5.

Let’s Grow North & East Yorkshire is focused on manufacturing businesses and service sector businesses. Grant support can be offered to projects of £125,000 or more , which offer the highest levels of impact and the best value for money.

It is open to businesses of all sizes, but non-SMEs will only be eligible in exceptional circumstances.

Full details of how to apply are featured on

the following pages, but as a brief guide, successful applications must create or safeguard jobs within the applicant company; be planning expenditure on capital assets and/or R&D or training (as part of a capital investment project); make a clear case for needing grant support; have adequate private sector funding for the project and must all comply with the prevailing State Aid regulations.

The name helps sum up the effect Let’s Grow can have on a region, like the millions that have already helped the North East. We want North Yorkshire, City of York and the East Riding of Yorkshire to grow with the help of the grants.

As with so many projects in Yorkshire, it is all about teamwork. Let’s Grow could be the new member of your team that helps you drive towards your biggest targets and helps the regional economy to prosper.

So, are you the kind of firm that deserves a helping hand? Are you aspirational, with a business plan that will mean jobs for the region? Then Let’s Grow can help you.

There will be a panel of Yorkshire’s leading experts judging each application. They are firm, but fair, and will rigorously test your company’s business plan.

But if they share your belief and confidence in what you can do for Yorkshire, and the jobs you can provide, then the money is there to back your ambition. n

ARE YOU READY YORKSHIRE? LET’S GROW!

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LET’S MAKE A DIFFERENCE Nigel Pulling, Chairman of the Let’s Grow North & East Yorkshire Investment Panel, says he and his colleagues will be looking for “impact and value for money” Once applicants for the new Let’s Grow grants have been checked for eligibility and objectives, their plans get sent on to the Investment Panel for the final decisions.

The panel has 12 members, all from the local business community, with representatives from the Local Enterprise Partnership and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

It can approve or decline applications to ensure that public funds are spent wisely – invested where they will add the most value and deliver the greatest impact in terms of jobs and growth in the local economy.

The huge success of the Let’s Grow

ARE YOU READY YORKSHIRE? LET’S GROW!

programme in the North East suggests that around 70% of applications submitted to the panel will be approved, and Panel chairman Nigel Pulling said applicants need to fulfil a number of targets.

“The Investment Panel is looking for several specific qualities in every application. By the time an application gets to us, it will have been sifted by the Let’s Grow team to ensure that it is eligible and fits with the aims and objectives of the Regional Growth Fund.

“The team will have done some work with every applicant to ensure that their project plan is robust and their financial projections

PANEL

stack up, so when it gets to us, we can look at the impact and value for money aspects in more detail.

“We are looking for projects where the grant makes a real difference to the business and to the project going ahead. Most successful applications argue that the grant is needed to mitigate project risks, such as delays or technical obstacles, which would lead to lower levels of profit.

“We are looking for projects that have adequate finance and are ‘ready to go’ because the funds must be spent by March 2017 at the latest.

“Job impact is also vital to the scheme’s success, so we always consider the number of jobs to be created or safeguarded.”

As a general guideline the grant award could be as much as £8,500 for every job created or safeguarded, which should highlight the importance of a carefully considered business plan that is going to make a difference to the regional economy.

Show Pulling and his panel how you will create ten jobs and they would reward you with anything up to £85,000. Keep doing the maths and you can see how important the money could be.

As he summarises: “We look for well-run, professional businesses that need a little support to help them realise their expansion plans.” n If you think you fit the bill, fill in an application and let’s grow!

How to apply to the fund The Let’s Grow programme is available to businesses based in North Yorkshire, the City of York and the East Riding of Yorkshire and is focused on manufacturing businesses and service sector businesses which offer more than a local service.

For more information or to apply to Let’s Grow: Telephone: 0191 389 8434.

E-mail: letsgrow@be-group.co.uk

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Alastair MacColl, chief executive of the BE Group, says Let’s Grow is “an essential incentive to attract inward investment”

THIS FUND IS A REAL GAME CHANGER The Regional Growth Fund statistics prove what a game-changer it has been for regional economies.

Since Nick Clegg launched it in 2010, more than 100,000 jobs have been created with a further 480,000 expected by the mid-2020s.

For every £1 the government has invested, the private sector has put in £5.50, meaning the total investment is now expected to attract £16 billion of private sector support.

Earlier this year the then deputy prime minister announced a major expansion , saying: “A stronger economy means providing equal opportunity for everyone across the UK, rather than solely relying on the City of London to bolster UK business. The success of the RGF is proof that putting money in the hands of local businesses helps them flourish and creates opportunities for more people to work locally.”

As part of that announcement the BE Group and Clive Owen LLP have been able to confirm

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this new £4m Let’s Grow programme, which launched on Friday 19 June and is now inviting expressions of interest from businesses.

Alastair MacColl, chief executive of the BE Group said: “The programme is supported by the York, North York and East Riding Enterprise Partnership as well as North Yorkshire County Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, City of York Council and seven district/borough councils: Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.

“The Let’s Grow programme will represent the region’s most significant business grant programme supporting SME growth while providing an essential incentive to attract inward investment.

“It is currently recruiting an Investment Panel.

Chaired by Nigel Pulling, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, and made up of representatives from both the private and

public sectors, the panel will provide impartial guidance and help to shape decisions on how the fund is awarded.

“We have built a formidable Let’s Grow partnership in this area, bringing together our local enterprise partnership, local authorities and private sector business leaders from a wide range of sectors. All working together to generate growth, jobs and prosperity.

“This Regional Growth Fund initiative is fantastic news for ambitious businesses in York, North Yorkshire and the East Riding.

It will help those businesses to realise their ambitions and support their expansion plans.

It is also great news for all those that live, work and study in our region because, bottom line, Let’s Grow is about creating sustainable and valuable jobs.

“I would urge those businesses out there with ambitious growth plans to get in touch with the Let’s Grow team now.’ n

ARE YOU READY YORKSHIRE? LET’S GROW!

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INTERVIEW

HOW WE MAKE SURE THE PROJECTS ADD UP Neville Baldry, a Partner at Clive Owen LLP accountants, gives the inside story of how Let’s Grow will work For more than 30 years, Clive Owen has looked after the financial affairs of businesses from its offices in Darlington, Durham and York.

Over that time, it has gained particular expertise in grants and State Aid, which has put it in pole position for work with the Regional Growth Fund. With around £140m of work in that sector already completed, it was a natural partner with BE Group for the Let’s Grow programme.

“We have been quite a prolific adviser on Let’s Grow,” said partner Neville Baldry, “putting in about 40 applications for the North East scheme alone.

“So we got to know the Let’s Grow team pretty well and also did some work with the LEP on a scheme in North Yorkshire and East Riding.

“The LEP had done such a good job in getting the message out about grants in an area that traditionally has never really benefited from grant support, that when we knew that scheme was due to end BE Group’s Simon Allen and I agreed to put a bid in to RGF for round six and basically replicate the North East success.”

The bid went in in September last year and in February the team was told it would have £4m to help businesses grow and provide new jobs.

Baldry and his team will now have the task of appraising the applications that will come flooding in.

“The applications are put to an investment panel of experienced individuals to see which projects they want to support,” explained Baldry.

“Then it comes to us for appraisal to make sure it is State Aid compliant, that the sums add up and that there is a realistic chance of the project happening and delivering the jobs.”

ARE YOU READY YORKSHIRE? LET’S GROW!

There is a clarity about the Let’s Grow programme that seems to appeal to applicants, with a clear path to apply, and a process that can only benefit firms, whether they are successful or not.

“There isn’t a great deal else in terms of business support out there. We looked at the statistics and they showed that growth in North Yorkshire and the whole East Riding was going to be lagging behind growth in the whole country.

“So it was clear to us that they needed some sort of stimulus to help. Also, one of the reasons behind the creation of the RGF was to rebalance the economy where there have been job losses in the public sector, which makes up a very high proportion of the jobs in North Yorkshire.

“This scheme helps the private sector expand and create new sustainable jobs and rebalance the economy.

“It is very rewarding work, working with ambitious companies who want to grow and helping them to achieve it. This might not have happened without the grant, which shifts the balance in their favour.”

So, does he have any tips for Let’s Grow applicants?

“I would urge them to make a full assessment of the risks involved in the project, because that will be the justification for the grant support.

Understand where the risks are and attempt to quantify them.

“Think it through carefully and thoroughly, which is what the application forms encourage them to do.” Which is certainly what Baldry and his team will be offering - a careful and thorough assessment of the best companies to take the area forward. n

This scheme helps the private sector expand and create new sustainable jobs and rebalance the economy

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CASE STUDY One and half pork pies is enough to get my mouth watering.

Now try to picture one and a half MILLION of the meat and pastry marvels. That’s what Vale of Mowbray can turn out each week to satisfy the demands of customers around the country.

Operational Director Mark Gatenby has big plans and high praise for the help his firm has had from the Regional Growth Fund.

We are investing around £9m in the future of the company and the grant of £620,000 has obviously contributed greatly to that.”

Jobs have always been a key part of the RGF equation, and Vale of Mowbray is well on track to fulfil its side of the deal, with more than 60 new jobs planned to add to the current headcount of 241. Forty new jobs have already been created - with 22 to go. The company has been traditionally baking pork pies at Leeming Bar in North Yorkshire since 1928, and the huge investment is a sign of a company confident of its long-held reputation and eager to plan for a long-term future. “We are expanding capacity by roughly 50%, but within the new build we are also closing one of our old bakeries and re-locating all staff and some equipment into the new bakery,” explained Gatenby. “So some of the new area is being taken up with that move, and some is giving us that increase in production capacity.

“It is a huge change in the culture of Vale of Mowbray, everything is going to be much more modern, more automated and more efficient in baking and cooling – but with the same trusted recipe. ”The history of the firm goes back more than 200 years, to when it was the Vale of Mowbray Brewery from 1798 to 1925.

After the business focused on pies after 1928, it was run by the Rider family until 1961, when Harris Bacon took over for 20 years.

In 1982 it was purchased by Hillsdown Holdings, which was followed by an MBO in 1995. 2002 saw a radical change, but for all the wrong reasons. A huge blaze destroyed the main bakery and the rebuilding of the company started at its new site on Leases Road the following year. Since then the Vale of Mowbray recipe for success has taken their pies all over the country and the new plans are a big vote of confidence in the marketplace.

“The business is going pretty well at the moment and we feel that there are

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SUMMER 15

Grant schemes like Let’s Grow are using Regional Growth Fund money to help transform businesses across the county.

Mike Hughes spoke to two bosses whose aspirational plans have already won their companies RGF support

AIMING FOR A BIGGER SLICE opportunities out there,” said Gatenby.

“There has been a shift in various market forces over the last year and a half. All our existing customers are in growth and we are now in other multiples, so we will grow that over the next 12 to 18 months.”

The quality and history of the brand are key assets, and with customers like Iceland stocking Vale of Mowbray, the profile is as high as ever.

“About 80% of the pork pie market nationally is own-label from the supermarkets, so it is often quite a battle. But in one form or another we are in all the Big Four

supermarkets, Asda, Tescos, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s as well as Iceland.

“Fundamentally, the recipe hasn’t changed since 1928. Obviously, we have moved with the times and are very experienced at making sure the pies are as healthy as possible, including things like salt levels. We work hard to maintain the flavour - because that is what the customers enjoy - and be compliant with all the regulations.” That mix of expansion, vision, confidence and the personal relationship with its customers has stood the firm in good stead and looks like it will do so for years to come. n

ARE YOU READY YORKSHIRE? LET’S GROW!

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CASE STUDY

MILITARIA BUSINESS ON THE MARCH Hills Interiors is also using RGF money to grow the business and create jobs and prosperity You would think that being the UK’s leading importers and distributors of wholesale replica militaria would be enough for some firms.

But open the doors at Hill Interiors in Burneston, North Yorkshire and you’ll see how big the success story is. The company offers more than 4,000 products to the trade, from armour and swords to interiors, art and garden features. It’s no surprise that MD Nik Hill

ARE YOU READY YORKSHIRE? LET’S GROW!

needs more space and is using the company’s RGF grant to help add 24,000 square feet to the site, bringing the grand total up to an impressive 100,000 square feet.

Hill, whose father Graham founded the business in 1975, says his business is all about planning ahead and the new space will be put to good use very soon.“The floor has gone down already – and in a couple of more weeks it will be watertight. It’s more than just a shell we’re building, there is a mezzanine floor and

all the essential fittings like fire alarms. We are a growing firm, but we wouldn’t have been able to do it all without help from the RGF. “We were 50-50 about whether we were going to do it, but the grant gave us that push to crack on with it. It was coming to the end of the RGF scheme, so we had to move quite fast, but everything fell into place and the planning went through without any hassle.”

The expansion is a clear example of how the company has adapted to new sectors, found new outlets for its goods and increased its market share. “We used to be quite giftwareoriented, but as the market has changed we have moved more into interiors and items like furniture, mirrors and lighting. Around about 2008 we had to reinvent ourselves, and we were very lucky when we bought the site that we had a couple of acres, so had the space to expand when we needed it. We found a few good suppliers in China that we work very closely with and that has all helped us press ahead. We are really pushing on growth-wise.

We have doubled the turnover in the last four years, which means that we need more staff on board. We always like to take on local people and bring them into the family.”

With the help of the RGF money, that means ten extra staff being added to the 70 existing.

Ten more jobs, ten more wages coming into the household and ten more families better off and spending their hard-earned wages in the local economy – that’s the simple measure of RGF success. n

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APPLY NOW A new grant scheme for businesses based in North Yorkshire, the City of York and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The projects we can support are those which: Involve expenditure of £125,000 or more on capital assets or R&D and, where appropriate, training costs as part of a capital investment project Haven’t yet started Will create or safeguard permanent, sustainable jobs Offer good value for money in terms of value of grant per job created Make a clear case for needing grant support Have adequate private sector funding for the project Comply with State Aid regulations

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