Entrepreneurs in Northamptonshire with a great idea or a business less than 12 months old are invited to apply for grants and free expert advice by Friday, 15 July this year as part of the Kick Start Small Business Grants initiative. After a Dragon’s Den style grant panel session in September for shortlisted applicants, winners will receive: a £2,000 grant for business expenses, a year’s free membership with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and ongoing support from the BIPC Northamptonshire team. Cllr Adam Brown, West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) Deputy Leader and member responsible for the BIPC, said: “The last few years have been incredibly challenging for businesses of all sizes, but we continue to see entrepreneurs and new companies coming forward to make their mark on our local economy. “Despite the challenging economic environment, those who can find success now may well go on to flourish and develop into incredibly successful enterprises. “As local authorities we want to do everything in our power to nurture start-ups and give them the very best start we can.” Cllr David Brackenbury, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for growth and regeneration, said: “We know life has been tough for so many businesses and want to help as many as possible. “Throughout the pandemic, we have seen small businesses being set up across Northamptonshire and this initiative is designed to help those just starting out. “I would urge anyone who thinks they qualify to check the eligibility and apply before Friday, 15 July.” The Kick Start initiative is supported by BIPC Northamptonshire, which is part of the British Library’s National Network of Business & IP Centres which supports small businesses by hosting free events, such as networking, workshops, seminars and webinars. The Network recently expanded to over 100 regional and local libraries across England, thanks to £13million in central government funding. The Library Plus service also provides information and access to database subscription resources for market research, as well as business mentoring and one-to-one advice sessions on self-employment, starting up a business, business planning, and intellectual property. Further details on how to apply, including eligibility criteria, are available on the BIPC Northamptonshire website.

Signs that business distress may have stabilised in the first three months of this year, according to  figures published today (29 April) by independent business rescue and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor, are likely to be dramatically reversed as the global economy starts to feel the devastating impact of the war in Ukraine and soaring energy prices. The latest quarterly Red Flag Alert data from Begbies Traynor reveals a 22% drop in ‘significant’ or early-stage distress in Lincolnshire, compared to the first quarter of last year when the country was in lockdown, and a 4% fall compared to the final quarter of 2021. Across the UK as a whole, significant distress fell by 20% year on year and 1% since the previous quarter. Gareth Rusling, who heads Begbies Traynor’s Lincolnshire offices in Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, said: “While at first glance these latest business distress figures seem to paint a relatively optimistic picture, of businesses in Lincolnshire, and the whole of the UK, beginning to emerge from the enormous challenges of the past two years, unfortunately they do not take into account the two most recent global developments that are already beginning to shake the economy to its core. “The gathering storm of the war in Ukraine, and the sharp rise in energy prices and escalating cost of living crisis which the conflict is set to exacerbate, will inevitably put enormous strain on business across almost every sector. “For small-business owner-managers in particular, it’s now essential to be as structurally and financially well prepared as possible. Seeking advice at the first signs of financial distress is also a wise move and means that more options are available to take positive action.” In Lincolnshire the decline in business distress was seen across the whole economy in the first three months of 2022 compared with Q1 2021. Printing and packaging saw a 30% year on year fall, food and drug retail sector distress fell by 27%, while in Lincolnshire’s automotive sector, distress dropped by 27%. In Q1 of 2022, compared to the final three months of 2021, distress continued to fall gradually across the regional economy, with only construction and general retail  (both up 1%) and health and education (up 3%) seeing a slight increase in financial difficulties.

Quoted companies in the Midlands issued seven profit warnings in Q1 2022, one more than in the previous quarter, but still the lowest number of warnings in a first quarter since 2018, according to the latest EY-Parthenon report. Nationally, the number of profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies in the first quarter of 2022 increased 44% year-on-year with a record number of warnings citing rising costs as increased commodity and energy prices fuel inflation. Over half of the profit warnings issued by Midlands-listed business involved companies in consumer-facing sectors, a trend mirrored nationally. The report reveals that UK-listed companies issued 72 warnings in Q1 2022, the highest quarterly figure since the start of the pandemic in the second quarter of 2020. A record-breaking 43% of warnings were due to rising costs, up from 27% in Q4 2021 and well above the 2011-2021 average of 10%. Eleven per-cent (11%) of warnings cited the impact of the war in Ukraine, with most referencing the impact of sanctions and withdrawal from Russian markets. Meanwhile, supply chain challenges eased slightly in Q1 2022 with 22% of listed companies issuing a warning referencing this as the main reason for doing so. Warnings from consumer-facing sectors reached their highest level since the second quarter of 2020, with 36% of warnings from this sector citing supply chain disruption and 69% blaming rising costs. Dan Hurd, a partner at EY-Parthenon in the Midlands, said: “The general downward trend in profit warnings across the region is perhaps a welcome sign that many businesses are beginning to see the results of careful navigation during the pandemic. “However, the region’s manufacturers are likely to continue to be affected by supply chain issues and all sectors will feel the effect of higher energy prices. Businesses in consumer-facing sectors, such as retail and food services, have some difficult decisions to make, choosing to pass additional costs on to customers, at a time when they have little room for further manoeuvre. “2022 was always going to be a difficult year for companies, particularly overcoming the challenges of inflation, with many having already dealt with the pressures on company margins and consumer real incomes and restructured their businesses accordingly. “However, the war in Ukraine has contributed to greater supply-side pressure and raised questions about confidence and demand in 2022. We are now looking at a year with ongoing COVID-19 disruption alongside higher inflation, greater uncertainty, and faster monetary tightening than we expected just a few months ago. “The post-pandemic recovery should continue in 2022 but will be slower than expected with greater downside risks. Volatility and uncertainty have become the standard backdrop to operations, and companies need to ask themselves when ‘crisis as usual’ becomes the norm for which they plan. Businesses will need to start thinking about how their operations and wider ecosystem will fare in sustained headwinds, and how they can reshape in response to long-term change.” Supply chain issues hamper post-pandemic recovery The FTSE sectors with the highest number of warnings in Q1 2022 were those most affected by cost and supply chain pressures, alongside those that are most sensitive to changes in business confidence. FTSE Retailers issued the most warnings in the first quarter of the year (9 in total), followed by FTSE Industrial Support Services (7) and Personal Care, Drug and Grocery Stores (6). EY’s analysis forecasts that supply chain challenges could be even tougher in 2022 than in 2021, with the periodic breakdowns in supply witnessed last year potentially giving way to significant challenges for material and product availability in the most exposed sectors in 2022. In addition, the biggest emerging issue in profit warnings, according to EY’s data, is contract delays and cancellations, reflecting the increasing uncertainty around company investment decisions. Headwinds for UK retail Despite strong levels of consumer spending, UK-listed Retailers issued nine profit warnings in Q1 2022 – the highest quarterly total since the start of the pandemic, accounting for 17% of all listed Retailers. Over one-third of FTSE Retailers (34%) have issued a warning in the last 12 months. The sector has been affected by supply issues with 67% of retail warnings citing supply chain disruption, 75% blaming increased costs and over half (56%) revealing staffing issues in the last six months. Consumer sector profit warnings look set to remain high as the ability to pass costs on depends on the capacity of increasingly pressured consumers to absorb them. Silvia Rindone, EY UK&I Retail Lead, added: “Our data underlines the challenges ahead for UK retail. The sector’s problems so far have been largely on the supply – rather than demand – side. Companies will now be facing a combination of supply chain, cost, and demand headwinds, as the rise in the cost-of-living affects real incomes and creates a challenge for the sales growth that has helped drive the recovery so far. “It is vital that companies respond to consumers’ concerns. Our latest Future Consumer Index revealed that more than two-thirds of UK consumers are worried about their finances. So, we expect significant ‘trading down’, as we saw in the last financial crisis, but we also expect an increasing focus on ‘value for money’ options as sustainability-conscious consumers look for purchases that will last.”