Derbyshire Business Support

Early stage businesses in Chesterfield to receive support from new funding

A new support fund for businesses which have been trading in our region for between 6-24 months has been officially launched.

D2N2 LEP Chair, Elizabeth Fagan announced the launch of D2N2 LEP’s Early Stage Angel Investment Fund at the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds this week.

Speaking at the interactive panel session ‘Focus on the East Midlands, our Time is Now’, alongside East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, Elizabeth said:

“I’m delighted to announce today that we are launching our Early Stage Angel Investment Fund here in Leeds at UKREiiF. The purpose of the Fund is to stimulate investment and growth in ‘early stage’ companies – those that have been trading between six and 24 months – that are based in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham or Nottinghamshire (the D2N2 region).

“D2N2 LEP is contributing £4 million to the Fund and this will be match-funded by our investment fund manager, Haatch. Our aim is that over the longer term, these funds will be re-invested in the programme, to catalyse investment and growth for further early stage companies.”

The partnership aims to drive economic growth by investing in emerging startups and entrepreneurial talent in the region.

D2N2 LEP is a leading force in driving economic growth and job creation in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Haatch, is a leading venture capital firm known for its entrepreneurial roots and commitment to fostering innovation outside of London.

Over the next two years, the Haatch D2N2 ESAIF will invest in approximately 13 companies providing a significant step forward in unlocking the potential of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire’s startup ecosystem and driving sustainable economic growth.

Further information about the Fund, visit https://haatch.com/investors/haatch-d2n2-esaif/

Delegates representing Destination Chesterfield and the town’s Property and Construction Group also attended the event in Leeds. Read our recent blog from Destination Chesterfield Manager, Dom Stevens reflecting on the success of the event.

For more information about the current business support on offer to businesses in Chesterfield, go to: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/business-support/

D2N2 LEP supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Forum at UKREiiF

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Second round of £1.2m East Midlands Create Growth programme opens to businesses

Applications have opened for the next cohort of a £1.2 million support programme for East Midlands creative businesses.

Companies are being encouraged to apply for the second phase of Create Growth, which is funded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).

It comes as 23 East Midlands businesses completed the first cohort of the regional business growth accelerator.

The inaugural cohort, made up of firms from across Leicester, Leicestershire, Derby and Derbyshire, and Lincoln, Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland, have benefited from a programme of focused support over the last eight weeks.

Participants ranged from marketing and design agencies to architects, theatre companies to video producers.

Businesses completed an initial business health check, attended a full-day business bootcamp, which included opportunities to network, and logged on to eight virtual masterclasses covering themes including leadership, marketing, sales, finance and business planning.

As well as the 90-minute masterclasses delivered by industry experts, all participants were also assigned a mentor offering five hours of free support.

Guy Lewis, Director at programme delivery partner CDI Alliance, said: “Our first cohort were enthusiastic, engaged and committed to the programme.

“We’ve had some really encouraging feedback about the bootcamp session, masterclasses, and support offered throughout the programme, and look forward to seeing what’s next for the businesses who took part in Cohort One.”

All of the participating businesses now have the option to complete a fully funded 12-hour investment readiness workshop, helping to prepare their firms for growth.

To be eligible for Cohort 2 of the East Midlands Create Growth programme, businesses must:

  • Have turnover growth of 10% year-on-year over approximately 3 years (including either prior to or during the Pandemic)
  • Employ a minimum of 2 people over the last two years (full-time, part-time or freelance)
  • Have created a revenue generating product, launched a new platform or service, or reached a market of scale
  • Generated sales revenue in the last 2 years.
  • Be trading or registered within Leicester, Leicestershire, Derby, Derbyshire, Greater Lincolnshire, or Rutland.

Create Growth was launched in 2022 by DCMS, in partnership with Innovate UK. It is designed to support the development of creative industries with high-growth potential across England, outside of London.

The East Midlands programme is led by East Midlands Creative Consortium (EMC²), which aims to help creative businesses get investment ready. Its members include local authorities, universities, local enterprise partnerships, and many other organisations in the private, public and voluntary sector.

EMC² aims to support 100 creative businesses across three years through four cohort groups. The coalition came together through its successful £1.2m bid for the Government’s Create Growth Programme, led by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).

Applications for the second cohort are now open – any eligible businesses interested in applying can find out more here.

CentralTechnology office

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Innovative scheme supports more than 900 Derbyshire start-up businesses

A ground-breaking support scheme has provided funding and advice to more than 900 start-up businesses in Derbyshire so far.

The Vision Derbyshire business support scheme offers free, impartial advice and support to new businesses. It also provides grant funding of up to £10,000 to eligible businesses.

To date, more than £280,000 has been issued in grant funding to support entrepreneurs across the county.

One of the businesses to receive the support is Chesterfield-based CK’s Fruit, Veg and Flowers – formerly known as Ibbotson’s. The shop in Hasland offers quality local produce, such as honey from Wingerworth, potatoes from Calow and various vegetables from Holymoorside.

Rich Jones, Co-owner of CK’s Fruit and Veg commented: “Without the support of the Vision Derbyshire team we wouldn’t have been able to install new fridges, cutting our energy usage by 2/3, and certainly wouldn’t have been able to justify the creation of our E-Commerce website where our full range of fruit, veg and flowers are available to buy for delivery across the whole of Chesterfield.”

“Schemes like this don’t only provide financial support for projects and improvements, they also have training and support behind the scenes to help you succeed as a business, these can include one-to-one conversations, webinars or in-person training days at the colleges and other training providers in the area.

“It’s very easy as a small business owner to feel alone, however the team have supported us over the last 12 months and are always there if we’ve got a question or query.”

Rich hopes the shop will help to provide a quality and good-value local service to people across Chesterfield, providing an alternative to the major supermarket chains.

He added: “We’re really keen to get our little business and the amazing products out there to the wider Chesterfield area. Supermarkets provide an amazing amount of convenience and it’s not always easy to get to your local Fruit and Veg shop or Florist and that’s where we’re hoping to make that little bit of difference. What’s more, we deliver it directly to your door. Find us at our website www.cksfruitvegandflowers.co.uk or on Facebook.”

Cllr Tricia Gilby, Economic lead for Vision Derbyshire and Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council commented: “I’m delighted to see CK’s Fruit, Veg & Flowers develop and grow thanks to support from our Vision Derbyshire Business Start-Up support scheme. Helping businesses to be sustainable is a key objective for the scheme, and I wish the team all the best for the future.”

Thinking of launching a business in Chesterfield? For more information on starting and growing your organisation in the town, go to: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/invest-in-chesterfield/

Read our latest blog of local start-up success stories, along with tips and advice from local business leaders at: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/2023/01/get-your-business-idea-off-the-ground-in-chesterfield/

 

Rich CK's Fruit and Veg

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