Our confident region is still a great place to do business
Oct 15 2008 By Alistair MacColl for The Journal
THE Fastest 50 list contains 50 very good reasons to be confident about the vigour and dynamism of our business community.
As a region we are continuing to produce businesses that are achieving exceptional results.
This prestigious roll call of excellence provides a great opportunity to really bang the drum for business in our region, reinforcing the message that the North East is a great place to do business.
Although companies the length and breadth of the country are adjusting to economically challenging conditions, we are witnessing a growing use of the Business Link service by an increasing number of companies at all stages of development and from all sectors.
In fact, figures published earlier this year revealed that the North East witnessed the largest start-up growth of any UK region and there has been no slow-down over recent months. The number of established businesses using the Business Link service is also growing.
During the first quarter of this financial year, Business Link exceeded its regional performance targets by almost 20%, supporting 5,732 established businesses, 2,816 individuals exploring business ideas and 629 start-ups. The service also provided intensive support to 2,400 businesses.
These figures suggest that in the North East, our entrepreneurial spirit is in great shape and the Fastest 50 provides some inspiring examples of confidence and ambition being translated into national and international success.
I am proud to say that more than a third of this year’s Fastest 50 have received Business Link support. The Business Link team will continue to work with these great companies and build upon the confidence they inspire among the wider business community, using their example to help make the North East the best region in Europe in which to start or grow a business.
The Business Link service is now easier to use, better resourced and able to offer an integrated skills and business support brokerage service. Together with the North East England Investment Centre and the North East England Service Provider Register, we are now offering the North East business community support that is shaped around its needs.
Every day of the week we work with fantastic businesses which display the same winning qualities as those which have been named as this year’s Fastest 50 and we are dedicated to identifying this potential early and supporting quick growth.
In the year ahead, we will be delivering intensive support to around 10,000 businesses, many of which may go on to become the quickest-growing companies of the future. We aim to support more than 30,000 customers overall in the year ahead, 4,000 of which will be new businesses.
The Business Link service is aligned with the key sectors of the Regional Economic Strategy. However, regardless of the sector we have people and processes in place to identify and support potential wherever it exists. And our account managers and brokers are actively seeking businesses of all sizes to understand their individual needs and support growth.
It is important to emphasise that our support does not end there. Companies experiencing rapid growth will inevitably experience a number of hurdles alongside the rewards as they expand. Business Link is on hand to overcome these challenges and help our region’s companies achieve even greater successes nationally and internationally.
Congratulations to the Fastest 50 and I look forward to seeing many of the businesses that have made this year’s list go on to even greater success.
Alastair MacColl, chief executive of Business & Enterprise North East, which manages the region’s Business Link service.
northeast, or tel: 0845 600-9006.
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