Annual2021-2022Review
We’re passionate, energetic and committed. • Always driven to go the extra mile for clients and each other •We have fun celebrating clients and our successes We’re ambitious. •To maximise opportunities to help grow your business •Tochallenge ourselves to learn, to innovate and to adapt; realising even more dreams. We’re supporting your dreams. • Every day we enable someone to realise their business dreams • We share your dreams by collaborating, listening and responding with the best business advice possible Our Values 2 3 Our Inclusivemissionsupportmaking it easier and greener to start and run a successful business. Contents Our Mission 03 Our Chair’s Annual Review and Directors Report 04 Wenta - Our Impact 06 Free support delivered nationally during 2021-22 08 Finance Report 11 Wenta Partners 12 Michael Olsen, www.butterflyart.co.uk
54 Chair’s Review and Directors report 2021/22
In Bedfordshire and the South East Midlands we continued to work with The Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, The University of Bedfordshire, The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (South East Midlands LEP) and The University of Northampton.
As I begin my first year as a Board member and Chair of Wenta, I would like to pass on heartfelt thanks to Graham Lane who has steered Wenta so well as Interim Chair over the past year. I am looking forward to adding my commitment to that of Board members, clients, stakeholders and the staff team in support of our Mission; “Inclusive support making it easier and greener to start and run a successful business”
Billy www.regensolutions.co.ukMcNamara,
Chairman, Dom McKenna “ We chose the Wenta Business Centre due to its location, facilities, and having the flexibility to create our own space. Being here has enabled us to have a base, grow the team, and meet some other great businesses.
Working with DWP, Wenta became a gateway company delivering the Kickstart Scheme and, in combination with DWP and national charity Shaw Trust, continued the very successful Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) programme, aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on youth employment and self-employment when most needed.
We have ended the year in a financially robust position and have again enjoyed the support of Santander who have, just after the year end, enabled Wenta to put in place a new financing facility. Careful planning and this new facility will enable Wenta to invest in new Net Zero Services, our business centres, more free services and the data infrastructure that lies behind Wenta.
OUR NEW STRATEGY As we reflected on the challenges faced in the last year and looked forward to future demands that businesses will face, the Board, senior team and staff team have developed and agreed our new Strategy. Our key themes to support clients for the next five years will be: REACH. IMPACT. GROWTH.
REBUILD AND REIMAGINE Wenta, along with our clients, staff and partners have, to varying degrees, begun to emerge from the impacts of COVID-19. Together, we have begun to rebuild and to reimagine how we can support wider economic activity, through supporting both start-up entrepreneurs and businesses seeking to learn new skills. Part of that rebuilding has included the development of our new Strategy 20222027. These new plans have been directly informed by the impacts of the last two years; our learnings about what works well in difficult situations, what businesses have been asking for and where we should prioritise our resources to have the greatest impact.
• 104 clients supported into self-employment in the JETS (Job Entry Targeted Support) programme • 33,471 hours of business support and advice delivered • +77 net promoter score from all advice clients • £234,000 grants paid directly to SME’s. OUR PARTNERSHIPS These results have been achieved through an increase in collaboration and commitment with our partners. For some, this has also seen Wenta working with more marginalised communities, supported by Luton Borough Council and Luton Rising. Watford Borough Council and Wenta also partnered to support local businesses through the further Additional Restrictions Grants that were launched. In addition, Three Rivers District Council engaged with Wenta in a Pre Start Up support programme to support Three Rivers residents and businesses who wanted to start up their own business. The Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, (Hertfordshire LEP) continued their commitment to The Hertfordshire Start-up Programme along with the Get Enterprising Programme, both successfully responding to Hertfordshire-wide businesses.
We are proud to say that Wenta has taken a major step in launching this strategy. In December 2021 Wenta signed up to the UK SME Climate Hub and are committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050 or Oursooner.pledge:
The second year of the pandemic saw a growth in demand and opportunities to continue delivering a positive service impact:
We are pleased that, thanks to our partners and our social enterprise model, we have been able to fund record numbers of free support and advice for whomever, wherever and however they have wanted it.
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• 474 businesses started • 661 jobs created • 207 jobs for young people enabled through ‘The Kickstart Scheme’ • 15,108 delegates supported through skills training
As a not-for-profit organisation, financial sustainability has also been part of the landscape of challenges over the past two years.
Revolutionising the way Wenta and small businesses can tackle the Net Zero Challenge. Making it easier for businesses to access and develop the new skills they need to start and grow. Growing new, inclusive, digital services to reach more people. Developing sustainable property assets through acquisition, partnerships and development.
KEY NEW GROWTH AREAS:
As with others, we are seeing the impact of inflationary pressures on clients and staff alike.
Wenta is currently working towards its Silver (and then Gold) accreditation as a Carbon Literate organisation, to be achieved by the end of 2022.
Together we look forward optimistically and thank our Board, clients, stakeholders and staff for their support in the past year. We hope that you will find a way to join us in 2023, when Wenta will celebrate 40 years of service.
We are one of a very small number of UK organisations that have trained all staff (over 35) and we have ten staff team members available to deliver bespoke Carbon Literacy training to other organisations in both our local business and non-business sectors.
“Wenta are proud to have joined the UK’s SME Climate Commitment and the United Nations “Race to Zero” campaign to become a Net Zero company by 2050 or sooner. In line with this commitment, we are developing our Net Zero strategy and will start to report our annual progress against our carbon reduction targets in 2022. We are fully training all our workforce to become advocates for Net Zero across our business and local communities. We will seek best practice in our response to Net Zero and will actively share this with our tenants and clients across all our services. We aspire to becoming part of the solution to Climate Change and want our current and future clients to be part of that solution too.”
Delivery of Wenta’s free, national services 33,471 hours of business advice and support delivered 21,920 hours of building,confidenceskillstraining 95% skills training satisfaction rate 4,208 live chats 2,939 one-to-onesessions 474 totalstartbusinesss 2,888 hours one-to-oneofsessionsdelivered OurImpact 1st April 2021 - 31st March 2022 £7.1m GVA start-upins 661 jobs created £41m value of createjobsd 39% from communitiesBAME 15,108 people supported with skills training £234,000 in grants paid to small businesses £428,000 in grants paid over the past 3 years 6 7
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Becky Burns Hull “
Erunse Idemudia Bedford, Bedfordshire “ I have been a sole trader for around 18 months and have already submitted my Tax return so this was a great refresher. Wenta helped me get the sole trader business started and running and the webinars were so helpful.
Mo Riyike Folkestone, Kent “ The content was brilliant, very detailed and clear. I found the trainer very personable and they had excellent knowledge of the subject. ” Lizzie Stuart
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Free duringdeliveredsupportnationally2021-22
London “ It’s been a pleasure to work on different aspects of my business, from improving the functionality of my website, the content, communication, dealing with my clients, social media and discussing different approaches to accelerate the growth of my business. ” Vasile Pascuta Macclesfield, Cheshire “ Really enjoyed this webinarMick was great - super responsive to questions and easy to understand, I’m going to go and refresh my cash flow forecast immediately while it’s fresh in my head! ”
Centre Locations: Business and Technology Centre, Chells Industrial Units, Stevenage Wenta Business Centre, Watford
The Wenta Business Centre, Enfield Enterprise Centre, Potters Bar
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Stevenage
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Alex Knox Portadown, N. Ireland “ Mick did an amazing job of using examples, slides, visuals and live footage on social media to go through lots of information in a clear, precise and detailed way. I learned so much even though I had some previous knowledge, I feel hugely motivated and enabled to do much more from today’s session.
” Suzanne Manly Sale, Manchester “ The trainer was spot on and provided loads of useful tips and information.
Steady pace, very informative, well taken care of. ”
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10 11 “ Wenta have been a huge help in getting Watford’s first Zero Waste shop started. The expert advice from the Wenta team was incredibly helpful and informative, especially as it is a free service! I would recommend Wenta as your first port of call for any business support grants. At times I was stuck or had some burning questions that needed answers to, the team were there to help. Thanks to the team at www.refillabell.co.ukSameer”Wenta!Kassam, Financial report Year 31/07/2018to Year 31/07/2019to 8 Months 31/03/2020to Year 31/03/2021to Year 31/03/2022to Turnover 3,535,190 3,308,677 2,088,777 3,161,444 3,503,933 Administrative Expenses -2,645,236 -2,664,193 -1,538,028 -2,013,532 -2,109,091 Interest / Other Charges -89,107 -112,829 -69,725 -140,848 -674,601 Surplus on Ordinary Activities 800,847 531,655 481,024 1,007,064 720,241 Total Assets Less Liabilities 10,123,088 10,432,750 10,766,171 8,633,019 13,080,968 Long Term Liabilities -4,001,758 -3,779,765 -3,632,162 -491,946 -1,089,654 Total Net Assets 6,121,330 6,652,985 7,134,009 8,141,073 11,991,314 Finance “ Wenta provided an excellent foundation and space to really kickstart my new business. They offered the flexibility, support and patience that we were looking for while taking on the daunting task of getting an office space during COVID-19. Nothing was too much for the lovely front of house staff, who were always available and had a smile on their face every morning. I am very much aware that if it wasn’t for Wenta I wouldn’t have had the same confidence and security of a space when juggling a start-up. Thanks again to the lovely staff for their on-going support and encouragement. ” Seb www.SAdrones.co.ukAlfano,
01438 310020 marketing@wenta.co.uk wenta.co.uk @TheWentaGroup Thankyou WentaPartnersWiththankstoeveryone who appears in this Annual Review, especially our amazing community of clients, who we have the privilege of working with every day! Additionally, our thanks to the Board of Directors for their continued support during 2021-2022 And finally, the Wenta sta team for their ongoing commitment and exceptional e orts throughout the year. AllanACAS Smith Accounting & Tax ASA Business Consulting Bedford Borough Council Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce Brasier Freeth British Business Bank CheekyCACI Munkey Central Bedfordshire Council Cobweb HertfordshireHertsHertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshireHabitGreatGoogleFSBFinpointExemplasEnterpriseEnfieldEastleighEastDWPDeytonDacorumCommunicornClearheadClearchannelInformationUKMediaUKBoroughCouncilBellHertsDistrictCouncilCouncilCouncilResearchCentreDigitalGarageOrmondStreetHospitalActionChamberofCommerceCountyCouncilLibrariesforLearningLtdGrowthHub Hertfordshire LEP Hertsmere Borough Council HM Revenue & Customs Ian Martin Consulting KentKentKCJobsJETSJamcrackersIyadoorIxionIngeusIceniHoldingsMarketingProgramme22+AGrowthHubInvictaChamber of Commerce L33 LetchworthUK Garden City Heritage Foundation Luton Borough Council Luton ManchesterRising City Council Machins Solicitors LLP MichaelMHCLGMentorsMCSMCRMaximusPathwaysCreativeMeHadiAssociates Ltd MyersMusic Clark Chartered Accountants NorthNatWestHertfordshire College Oaklands College Ocean Outdoor Media Reed in WebbWatfordWatfordWatfordWaterstonsVibeVealeUniversityUniversityUniversityUENIThreeTheStevenageStantaStartStSpargSouthSocialSkyShawSEMLEPSEMLEPSeetecScottSantanderRothamstedRichmondPartnershipPlanningROCRE&YorkGrowthHubTrustMedia(AdSmart)JooceHillCentreLegalAlbansDistrictCouncilUpLoansBoroughCouncilPrincesTrustRiversDistrictCouncilLtdofBedfordshireofHertfordshireofNorthamptonWasbroughVizardsFMBoroughCouncilChamberofCommerceCommunityHousingTrustStrategyLtd Ed SamanthaGrahamDomJordanMcKennaLaneChaney Leath Al Obaidi Louise Parkes Ian TonyMartinSilcock Kit PeterDaviesOxley Introducing Action Zero – The revolutionary, affordable Net Zero service for small Wenta.co.uk/actionzerobusinesses ZERO BRONZE NET ZERO FUTURE ZERO GOLD+ NET ZERO FUTURE ZERO GOLD NET ZERO FUTURE ZERO SILVER NET ZERO FUTURE
