Woman praised for help in securing mine investment

Nov 13 2007 by Dave Robson, Evening Gazette

A WOMAN who set up her own business consultancy less than a year ago is being praised for helping secure almost £2m of investment for the Cleveland Potash Boulby mine.

Sarah Metcalfe, the founder of SJA Business Consultancy, has also carried out work on a wide range of other important projects such as the Digital City plans in Middlesbrough and the highly-successful Enterprise Academy scheme led by Middlesbrough Football Club.

Sarah, 29, who runs the business from Ellerby, near Whitby, was previously a senior consultant for the major professional services firm Deloitte in Newcastle and had also held posts in the business support, analysis and research fields.

She said: “As a local resident, I was especially pleased to be asked to assist Cleveland Potash Limited in securing the £1.95m Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFI) from One NorthEast to help develop the mine and secure its future which is, of course, vital to the economy of the whole of the East Cleveland and North Yorkshire area.

“What appealed to me about setting up my own consultancy was being able to offer a genuinely bespoke service to clients, developing close working relationships and becoming a real team player.”

Graham Clarke, general manager with Cleveland Potash, stressed the need for the expertise required to successfully meet the stringent requirements in applying for SFI funding.

He adds “SJA Business Consultancy provided a very successful solution and through Sarah Metcalfe, we had the most capable of experts to provide the essential knowledge that assisted the company in negotiating the grant application process.”

Sarah and SJA Business Consultancy can be contacted on 07790 920073; email sarah@sjabusinessconsultancy.co.uk; or visit www.sjabusinessconsultancy.co.uk