Tag Archive for "business funding" - MHA Broomfield Alexander

Wales Economic Growth Fund announced

Posted on: February 13th, 2013 by Mike Fenwick No Comments

Mike Fenwick, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

We welcome the Welsh Government’s announcement today of a further round of the Wales Economic Growth Fund (WEGF) with an additional investment of £30 million, to open to applications next month (closing date of 5 April).

The WEGF provided discretionary non repayable grant support across all sectors to support projects in Wales that involved capital investment, job creation and safeguarding.

In the previous round of WEGF, the Welsh Government received over 500 applications for in excess of £100 million of funding. Grant offers of approximately £32 million were made to 118 projects creating and safeguarding approximately 3,500 jobs.

Our specialist grants team at MHA Broomfield Alexander advised on 7 successful applications to the WEGF in this first round of funding, raising in excess of £1.5 million in grant funding which enabled clients across a broad range of sectors to invest in the capital equipment and the additional staff required to support their growth plans.

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Welsh Government funding support for businesses in Wales

Posted on: August 1st, 2012 by Mike Fenwick No Comments

Mike Fenwick, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

In the current economic climate raising finance in particular for SME’s and early stage businesses, continues to be challenging.

In recognition of this the Welsh Government has recently announced the establishment of 3 new funds aimed at supporting SME’s, micro businesses and businesses operating in the Life Sciences sector.

Wales SME Investment Fund

The new £40 million Wales SME Investment Fund is a 4 year fund managed by Finance Wales that provides debt, mezzanine and equity finance to SME’s throughout Wales.

The fund consists of £20m from the Welsh Government and a further £20 million from the private sector. The new fund is able to provide support to a wider range of SME’s than were previously eligible for support under the £150 million Finance Wales JEREMIE fund.

The fund is currently open for applications.

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Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

Posted on: May 30th, 2012 by LeightonReed No Comments

Leighton Reed, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

Companies, particularly in the current climate, are struggling to raise finance. However, there are various tax incentive investment schemes available offering a range of tax reliefs to individuals that purchase new shares in certain companies.

One of these schemes is the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) which was introduced in April this year. As you will see from the requirements set out below, SEIS is specifically designed to help small early-stage companies to raise equity finance.

Tax Reliefs

The scheme aims to attract investment into these smaller companies by offering income tax relief on a maximum annual investment of £100,000. The relief is given based on the cost of the shares at a higher rate of 50% rather than the 30% offered by the existing Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). Providing the shares are held for at least 3 years and there has been no withdrawal of income tax relief, like existing EIS, any gain on the disposal of the shares is free from capital gains tax (CGT).

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Changes to R&D tax credits following Draft Finance Bill 2012

Posted on: December 13th, 2011 by Leighton Reed No Comments

Leighton Reed, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

Changes to the R&D tax credits regime announced in the recent Draft Finance Bill 2012 can be summarised as below:

SME scheme

Increase in the enhanced R&D tax deduction rate

The enhanced R&D tax deduction rate is set to increase to 125% from 1 April 2012. Therefore, if £10,000 of qualifying R&D expenditure is incurred a company could claim tax relief of £22,500, providing a potential tax saving of in excess of £3,000.

Since 1 April 2011 the rate of the enhanced R&D tax deduction has been 100%, increasing from the previous rate of 75%.

Change in the amount of potential tax free cash

Loss making SMEs are able to surrender tax losses for a tax free cash receipt. From 1 April 2012 the maximum cash receipt will be 24.75p for each pound spent on R&D. Therefore, for expenditure of £10,000 a tax free cash receipt of £2,475 could be received.

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Wales Economic Growth Fund

Posted on: December 8th, 2011 by Mike Fenwick No Comments

Mike Fenwick, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

The Wales Economic Growth Fund is a new £15 million short-term, fast-track fund for businesses, providing immediate access to non-repayable grant funding for capital investment that will create and retain jobs.

The minimum level of funding is £100,000 and applications are open from 12 December 2011 with a closing date of 31 January 2012. The funding will need to be spent by the 31 December 2012.

The fund is open to applications from businesses from all sectors throughout Wales, however funding is discretionary and is subject to state aid rules and limits and the onus is on the applicant company to prove need. Retail businesses and businesses which provide services to the local market will not be eligible for support.

Applicant businesses will need to submit a business plan and detailed financial forecasts in support of their application. The business plan will need to demonstrate why grant is required and at what level, and the anticipated contribution the project will make to the wider economy.

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Accessing finance in Wales

Posted on: November 29th, 2011 by SeamusGates No Comments

Seamus Gates, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

The climate for accessing finance in Wales continues to be difficult not helped by the latest concerns over global banking and financial markets.

Nonetheless there continues to be opportunities for businesses to consolidate or grow and develop. In order to do this funding is required; set out below are some sources of funding that should be considered.

Bank funding is still the main source of finance for businesses. Despite the difficulties, good projects can still obtain support albeit the process may be more protracted than before. The key is to provide the bank with a clear and concise business plan, up to date accounts, robust financial projections, and a clear business case.

Bank overdrafts or structured loans require adequate security and the cost of borrowing is likely to be at least 2.5% over current base rates.

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Grant Support from WRAP Cymru

Posted on: October 25th, 2011 by Mike Fenwick No Comments

Mike Fenwick, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

I recently attended a presentation by the Waste and Resources Action Programme Wales (WRAP Cymru).

WRAP Cymru is responsible for helping businesses and individuals reap the benefits of reducing waste, developing sustainable products and using resources in an efficient way by encouraging investment in

Collections systems and infrastructure
Reprocessing infrastructure
Quality recyclates
Creating demand for quality recyclates in manufacturing

WRAP is able to provide 100% funding for the following consultancy support to businesses in the recycling and reprocessing sector:

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Recent Changes to Grant Support in Wales

Posted on: October 11th, 2011 by Mike Fenwick No Comments

Mike Fenwick, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

Following the introduction of the Economic Renewal Programme (ERP) in 2010 there have been a number of significant changes to how grant support is delivered to businesses in Wales.

The principal changes introduced by ERP were as follows

Targeting support by focussing on a number of key priority sectors
Moving to a model of mainly repayable business finance
Reallocating a significant proportion of the grant budget to investment in infrastructure and high speed broadband

The initial proposal contained in the ERP was to limit support to the following key 6 sectors

Creative industries
Information, Communication and Technology (ICT)
Energy and Environment
Advanced materials and manufacturing
Life Sciences
Financial and Professional services

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Specialist to help firms access funding

Posted on: October 7th, 2011 by RobertPreece No Comments

Robert Preece, Director, MHA Broomfield Alexander

A specialist Chartered Accountant, who has over 25 years’ experience advising businesses, in particular in accessing grant funding, has been appointed to the corporate finance team of South Wales professional advisors MHA Broomfield Alexander.

As director of grants, Aberdare-born Mike Fenwick, aged 49, will bring his considerable experience to bear to work with clients on grant funding and raising finance as well as on business planning and strategy.

Mike previously spent 22 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, 12 of them specialising in assisting companies throughout the UK with applications for grant funding, before moving to a similar role with UK top ten accountants PKF. Most recently Mike has been running his own consultancy business Fenwick Advisory.

Mike also has a keen interest in the development of the social enterprise sector and for 10 years has been Treasurer of Cardiff based charity Track 2000.

“I am looking forward to working with the team at MHA Broomfield Alexander and assisting businesses access funding to support growth and investment opportunities in what continue to be challenging economic times,” he said.

Seamus Gates, director of Corporate Finance said, “Broomfield & Alexander have experienced a busy 2011 to date and I believe the appointment of Mike will bring further growth to the department. Mike has hit the ground running and I am excited about the coming year.”

Writing a successful funding application

Posted on: September 8th, 2011 by Liz Mounfield No Comments

There are a number of key issues to consider when preparing a strong funding application. Firstly, ask yourself, ‘Does the project deliver on the priorities set out by the funder?’ Funders are just like you; they are passionate about their issues and supporting their chosen sections of the community, the difference is that they choose to pay organisations to deliver on those priorities. The more closely your project matches the priorities of the funder, the stronger your bid.

The second issue to consider is whether you have demonstrated that there is robust evidence of need for the project. One of the biggest fears for funders is that they will fund a project that no-one wants or needs. You may provide evidence that there is a need for this project by demonstrating ‘high rates of crime’, ‘levels of deprivation’, or ‘poor educational attainment’ using statistics you will also need to demonstrate that the proposed solution is one that the community wants.

Getting the project costs right is absolutely essential and there are a couple of rules to consider.

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