Businesses local to Gedling or trading in and around Gedling are to be offered new support following the establishment of the new Gedling Business Support Network.

The new Network will be launched on Friday, 10 May at the Richard Herrod Centre in Carlton. It is being funded by Gedling Borough Council’s share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and delivered by East Midlands Chamber.

Its aim is to enable local businesses to work together, learn new skills and stay up to date on relevant local, regional and national support.

As well as presentations from the Council and its partners on the fully funded business advice, training and consultancy on offer, the launch event will be highly interactive. Businesses will be invited to participate in practical exercises to share their challenges and to tell the stakeholders present exactly where they need the new Network to help.

Gedling Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth and Economy Jenny Hollingsworth said: “I really look forward to meeting and hearing from local businesses and hope many, from in and around Gedling, are able to attend. “It is of particular relevance to businesses who want to grow Gedling’s reputation as a place to do business and explore opportunities to work with other local businesses.” East Midlands Chamber Deputy Chief Executive Diane Beresford said: “We’ve put together a series of interactive exercises to really drill down to what’s keeping Gedling businesses awake at night and how the Chamber and Council can address those issues, both through the Network and through support delivered through the Gedling Accelerator project and our routes into national programmes.”

Small and medium-sized businesses in Leicestershire are being offered a time-limited opportunity to take one of the remaining places in a fully funded government training scheme for business owners.

Help to Grow: Management is a government scheme delivered via Small Business Charter accredited business schools. The programme is designed to empower businesses to innovate, increase profits, develop staff and improve leadership and management skills.

Limited places are available for the next intake delivered by De Montfort University’s Leicester Castle Business School (LCBS), which will take place over 13 weeks, beginning with an introductory session on June 11^th.

The course is delivered by expert tutors with real world business expertise and is designed to fit in alongside full-time work. The next programme will be delivered entirely online to offer ultimate convenience for time-pressed business owners located throughout the whole of Leicestershire.

The programme, worth £7,500, is 90% funded by the government and 10% through a bursary from Leicester Castle Business School, which has been successfully delivering Help to Grow: Management since 2020.

In addition to the weekly 2-hour online sessions, creating a bespoke Growth Action Plan in partnership with a one-to-one mentor is an important aspect of the programme.

Weekly peer-to-peer support sessions also offer a valuable opportunity for business leaders in various sectors and at different stages to support each other through sharing experiences and offering support.

Areas covered in the programme include developing a growth plan, leading innovation in business, team management and motivation, building resilience as a leader, creating new opportunities and fostering a culture of responsible business practice.

“We’re delighted to be offering places for our 11^th Help to Grow: Management course, which due to demand will be immediately followed by our 12^th intake on September 2^nd,” says LCBS’s Help to Grow: Management programme director, Dr Danny Buckley.

“Over the past four years we’ve helped over 200 fantastic SMEs from our area develop the skills they need to take their business to the next level. We look forward to more of the same on our upcoming course, which will be an option for more business owners than ever thanks to being delivered fully online with no valuable time taken up by commuting.

“As always, places are filling up fast, so we would urge anyone interested to act now to secure their place.”

This fully funded opportunity to grow and scale up their business is open to any professional with decision-making responsibilities and at least one direct report in a UK-based business which has been established for at least a year and employs between 5 and 249 staff.

2023 participant Megan Murray, partner in Market Harborough-based Duncan Murray wines, says: “The main benefit is having a chance to work on the business rather than in the business. We found the introduction to new models, frameworks and ways of thinking very beneficial.

“In particular, the business planning model was a very strategic tool to help us really sit back and take the time to evaluate every aspect of the business. It was a great opportunity to do some proper planning which can be difficult amidst the day-to-day running of a business.”

Across the UK, 90% of participants reported improved leadership and management of their organisation after six months, with 80% stating employee engagement had improved in the same period after attending Help to Grow: Management.

On completion of the course, members have access to various alumni events, and many continue to benefit from the valuable peer network they establish as a member of the programme.

“We found the peer support really valuable,” adds Megan Murray. “Even though we were quite a disparate group, it was so helpful to get together with people who are all facing the same kinds of challenges. There really is a ‘greater than the sum of your parts’ kind of thing that comes out of this sort of collaboration.”

A new network designed to support Asian founded businesses to scale up and innovate is set to inspire businesses around the country after launching in Leicester. The Asian Founders Community Meet will see hundreds of businesses attend events held around the country from Scotland to Southampton, run in partnership between Barclays Eagle Labs and De Montfort University Leicester (DMU). And it all began last week as entrepreneurs, business owners, mentors and funders came together for the launch event at Winstanley House in Braunstone. The Asian Founders Community Meet was devised by Eagle Labs ecosystem manager Poonam Sharma and Nimesh Kanani, city leader for Barclays Leicester to offer targeted support and networking opportunities for businesses owned by or founded by Asian entrepreneurs. Poonam said: “I’m extremely proud to launch the Asian Founders Community Meet with Nimesh Kanani in Leicester before heading to eight other cities across the UK. “Supporting and empowering Asian entrepreneurs is vitally important and for Barclays Eagle Labs to launch the initiative here in Leicester, a city which boasts so many successful Asian businesses, is very exciting indeed.” Helen Donnellan, director of Research Business and Innovation at DMU, said the university was proud to be a partner of the Asian Founders programme. She said: “At DMU, we believe that diversity inspires innovation. “Different approaches are taken, different ideas shared and exciting things happen when you empower people to succeed. That is why Asian Founders Community Meet is so important in showcasing and connecting founders and creating opportunity for everyone.” A fireside chat saw Chandila Fernando of Innovate UKRI, Jaz Kaur of Fraser Stretton Property Group, Shahid Sheikh OBE of Clifton Packaging Group, and designer Jay Gill, founder of Jheez Clothing, share their stories and experiences of starting and running successful businesses and pitching to investors. Taruna Mistry of CIC Leicester Community Links said: “Events like this are really important – hearing other people’s stories gives you ideas and I have already made connections tonight that will help my business.” Keynote speaker Anuj Ashar, a 22-year-old entrepreneur who has already had more than five businesses, said: “I am such a supporter of Asian Founders programme and to hear events will be held around the country is brilliant. It’s so important to come together as a community and supporting each other through sharing our expertise or our contacts or our skills to help each other.” DMU’s Innovation Centre, home to the only Eagle Lab in the East Midlands, hosted the first event last year when the idea was trialled with three events.

The Federation of Small Businesses has called for energy regulator Ofgem to take action on the standing charges paid by small businesses, many of whom have seen soaring daily fixed prices. The Federation is backing up requests from Ministers to Ofgem chief exec Jonathan Brearley that he ensures energy bills are fair an affordable, and has told him he must recognise the “specific, negative impact standing charges are having on small firms”. FSB’s Policy Chair Tina McKenzie said: “We want Ofgem to do a thorough review of standing charges for businesses as well as consumers, for better transparency and to discern whether energy companies are behaving fairly towards their small firm clients. “Small business energy customers behave in a way more akin to consumers than big businesses, lacking the resources, the expertise and the buying power necessary to get the best possible deal out of their energy suppliers. However, they do not benefit from anything like the same level of protection as that rightly available to households, leaving them caught between two stools. “Many small businesses could be forgiven for suspecting that they have been seen as something of a soft target for price hikes in their standing charges, and they do not have a full picture of where the money they pay on a daily basis is going – something that needs to change. “Small firms were put through the wringer by the energy price crisis, which sadly spelled the end for many otherwise viable businesses who saw their utility bills become completely unmanageable. “The price increases which led to the crisis have thankfully eased off to an extent, but many thousands of small firms are now stuck on tariffs which are far higher than before, which is a leading driver of cost increases. “While it’s possible for most firms to cut their energy use – something which many did in response to spiralling bills – the standing charge must be paid day in, day out, so ensuring that small firms aren’t being fleeced is absolutely vital. “We’re very keen to hear what Ofgem’s next steps in this area will be, to ensure that small firms pay standing charges that are fair and transparent, no matter where they’re based.” One small firm whose owner got in touch with FSB reported an increase in the business’s daily standing charge from 70.94p per day in July 2021 to 969.64p per day in September 2023 – over 13 times higher. Standing charges are used to fund network infrastructure, operating costs, and policy costs for schemes such as the Warm Home Discount, but this can be difficult for small firms to comprehend. Business customers are not covered by the energy price cap for consumers and many small firms suspect that their costs have been hiked as a result.