Thursday 28th June, Guildhall, City of London

A great opportunity to have multiple private appointments with buyers who have significant and current spends. You will have the opportunity to preview buyer purchasing requirements before the event and pre-request appointments with the buyers you want to see. Register your place now and pay only £65 + VAT.

Please contact angela@btob.co.uk 020 7700 0008 or visit www.supplycrossriver.co.uk Social Entrepreneurs Programme (UK) The School for Social Entrepreneurs has announced that it is offering places on a learning programme, with grants, for social entrepreneurs or would-be social entrepreneurs to make their ideas a reality, or to scale up their existing projects. The scheme is funded by Lloyds Banking Group, with additional support from Nominet Trust, and will run across the UK for the next five years.

The programme has two strands:

• The Start Up Programme compromises of a grant of £4,000 and a place on SSE’s Start Up learning programme. It is for applicants at an early stage in the development of their project or organisation, and supports personal development and business skills development to help turn projects or project ideas into reality.
• The Scale Up Programme compromises of a grant of £15,000 and a place on SSE’s Scale Up learning programme. The programme is for social entrepreneurs with an established organisation who are looking to take it to the next level, equipping them with the tools to develop it further and maximise their social impact.

In addition, each year, one of the Scale Up participants will also win the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award with a total grant of £25,000. The closing date for applications is 10am on the 28th May 2012. http://www.the-sse.org/schools/26/lloyds-banking-group-social-entrepreneurs-programme Business Angel Fund for Social Enterprises.

The Social Impact Co-Investment Fund has been launched initially on a pilot basis, supported by NESTA and PANAHPUR. The Fund supplies early-stage loan funding to the social impact sector and in particular, the fund seeks to encourage Business Angel investors to invest in viable enterprises which operate with a primary social purpose. The FSE Group’s , purpose is to deliver growth funding and support to SME’s (Small & Medium Enterprises) and enterprises that deliver a social and/or environmental impact. For more information on the FSE Group and the Fund, please contact Martin Carruthers, Fund Manager of the Social Impact Co-Investment Fund Tel: 01276 608524 or email martin.carruthers@thefsegroup.com

A new business loans service provided by one of the most controversial payday lenders has received thousands of applications from cash-hungry small companies in its first two days.

Errol Damelin, the chief executive of Wonga.com, said small companies with cashflow problems were flocking to his business as the mainstream banks withdrew or reduced overdraft limits or insisted on time-consuming processes and paperwork.

Wonga has been criticised by MPs and some debt support groups for its high interest charges. The Office of Fair Trading began an investigation into the entire payday lending industry after it found evidence that vulnerable customers were being unfairly treated.

However, Mr Damelin attacked Wonga’s critics and their “obsession” with the cost of its loans, which could charge consumers the equivalent of an annual percentage rate of 4,200 per cent. “There’s been a nuclear arms race to the bottom on pricing [of loans],” he said. This, he believes, had ultimately led to scandals such as the mis-selling of payment protection insurance as banks resorted to add-on products to make money. “You can’t make money on a 6 per cent loan,” he said.

Borrowers wanted speed, convenience and transparency, he said. “It’s important to stop obsessing only on price.”

Mr Damelin also argued that APR was not a suitable way of looking at loans taken out for just a few days. Wonga’s average loan term was only 16 days for consumers, though businesses are being offered terms of between a week and a year.

Wonga’s new business loans service is offering loans of between £3,000 and £10,000 at an interest rate of between 0.3 per cent and 2 per cent per week. There are additional fees.Wonga, sponsors of Blackpool FC, is backed by the Wellcome Trust and Oak Investment Partners. It grew its revenues last year by 360 per cent. “We’re growing as fast as Amazon and Google grew in their first few years,” Mr Damelin said. “We’re building a global champion here.”

The new Lloyds Banking Group Social Entrepreneurs Programme will run each year over the next five years, and has two strands:

• The Start Up Programme compromises of a grant of £4,000 and a place on SSE’s Start Up learning programme. The action learning programme will run in eight locations across the UK from October 2012 – October 2013. It is for applicants at an early stage in the development of their project or organisation, and supports personal development and business skills development to help turn projects or project ideas into reality.
• The Scale Up Programme compromises of a grant of £15,000 and a place on SSE’s Scale Up learning programme. The action learning programme will be delivered in London (with a national intake) from October 2012 – October 2013. It is for social entrepreneurs with an established organisation who are looking to take it to the next level, equipping them with the tools to develop it further and maximise their social impact.
• Each year, one of the Scale Up participants will also win the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award with a total grant of £25,000.

See our website for more information or to apply: www.the-sse.org/lloydsbankinggroup

Applications are open now, and the closing date is Monday 28th May at 10am.

Loans of up to £10,000 will be available for up to a year but critics say costly borrowing for small firms is ‘irresponsible’

Wonga is entering the business loan market at a time when firms are struggling to raise funding. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian The high-cost lender Wonga is launching a business loans service, promising to make funds available within 15 minutes of an application. Wonga was reluctant to quote a typical annual percentage rate, or APR, for loans, saying the measure was inappropriate as they could be taken out for as little as a week. The firm has been heavily criticised for lending to individuals at an APR of 4,214%, but claims business loans will be at rates starting at 17% APR. Loans of £3,000 to £10,000 will be available for terms of between one and 52 weeks. The cost, including a variable application fee and interest, starts at 0.3% a week and the loans must be repaid in weekly instalments. Wonga is entering the business loan market at a time when firms are struggling to raise funding. Research in November by the Federation of Small Businesses showed that 57% of firms suffered late payment by clients but between 2007 and 2010 there was a 24% fall in successful loan applications.

More than half of small firms that applied for an overdraft and 43% applying for a loan for the first time last year were rejected. The shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, criticised the government for failing to get banks to lend more to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “That SMEs are being driven into the hands of Wonga is a damning indictment of the government’s failure to get finance to successful SMEs,” he said.

Anil Stocker, founder of the online financing firm MarketInvoice, expressed dismay at Wonga’s entry into the market. “We were shocked when figures from the Small Business Finance Monitor appeared suggesting as many as 26% of businesses were funding their working-capital needs from credit cards. Turning to Wonga-style, extremely expensive loans would be even more irresponsible,” he said. In contrast, Funding Circle provides monthly repayment loans ranging from £5,000 to £250,000 “in a matter of days, not months” and charges from 6.4% annually. The loans, which are funded directly by investors rather than through a bank, are repayable over one, three or five years.

For more information http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/may/07/wonga-launches-business-loans-service

The North West London Chamber would like to invite you to their Speed Networking event for business

Date: Mon 23 Apr 2012

Venue: The Mumbai Junction (in the conservatory), 231 Watford Road, Wembley, HA1 3TU

Time: 6.30p.m. for 7 p.m. start

Price: Just £12 for NW London Chamber members and £17 for non-members. Price includes Buffet, soft drinks and tea/coffee

If you run a business, networking is your most effective form of marketing.

A Speed Networking event is informal and highly focused. You connect with everyone present – typically around 20 businesses – in a structured, face to face, one to one, micro-meetings lasting 2-3 minutes each. Without sacrificing the enjoyment of networking, you gain maximum productivity from the time you invest. Your cost for an event is generally less than 50p per contact. This is really efficient networking, relaxed, down to earth Business-to-Business.

Brush up your “elevator pitch”. Practice your pitch. Bring plenty of business cards and your sales literature to maximise your networking opportunities. The evening will even also include one of Mumbai Junction’s wonderful Indian style buffets.

For more information contact the Chamber Office on (020) 8427 2884 or email on info@nwlchamber.org.uk

To Book: Please send your cheque payable to North West London Chamber. Please also confirm I am/not attending this event by Thursday 19th April.

Business Coaching for Growth is a government scheme which specialises in delivering tailor-made growth support packages, including matching expert business coaches, for companies determined to realise controlled and accelerated growth.

Businesses will benefit from a structured programme of specialist advice, coaching and mentoring, tailored to their specific needs and aimed at helping them to develop and implement strategic business plans, and to exploit innovative ideas, unlock new markets, and access external investment. Every one of the 800 plus experts has a track record in creating fast and sustained growth and in helping businesses break through the barriers that are holding them back. You can also be introduced to the finance and business development experts you need and to a community of other like-minded, fast track companies.

For further information visit www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/download/3380/business_growth

Harrow Council is inviting expressions of interest from local contractors specialising in the following trades to deliver building maintenance services to the Council’s non housing corporate building and property stock.

• General building
• Electrical
• Plumbing
• Roofing
• Drainage
• Fencing
• Glazing

The successful tenderers will be invited to enter the relevant trade framework with Harrow Council and will be expected to provide responsive repair and maintenance services from the contract commencement date of 1st July 2012. To find out more about this, access the tender/PQQ documents and to express an interest in this tender and please register on Harrow Council’s E-Tendering Portal at www.harrow.gov.uk/info/200148/etendering_portal-bravo/1

The Government backed National Loan Guarantee Scheme launches on the 4th April assisting small and medium sized businesses with the cost of borrowing money.

All of the major lenders are taking part in the scheme, which applies to Loans, Hire Purchase, and Leasing Finance, and provides a discounted interest rate in comparison to the rate that banks will normally charge, for new loans.

To be eligible for the scheme you will need to be accepted under the lenders normal lending criteria, so you will need to present a strong business plan proving that you can afford to repay the loan over the term requested.

If you are currently speaking to your bank about finance, make sure you mention NLGS and your banker will be able to quickly tell you whether or not you are eligible.

Harrow Council are working very hard to encourage all residents, businesses and Community organisations in Harrow to get excited about the opportunities leading up to the ‘Greatest Sporting Event on Earth’ coming to London in 2012.

The Council’s “Championing Harrow Olympic Committee” will be counting down to the Olympic & Paralympic Games with a monthly E-Newsletter , highlighting some of the current stories and events happening in the Borough.

We very much hope you can get involved in some of the excellent activities leading up to a fantastic celebration this summer in London.

Many Thanks

Cllr. David Perry

Chairman – Championing Harrow Olympic Committee

Portfolio Holder for Community & Cultural Services

And whilst a limited amount for businesses, perhaps not enough to get them moving! Small businesses are important as there are 4.5million SMEs in the UK, employing some 14million people generating over £1500billion worth of turnover.

Corporation tax

A welcome reduction, with rates falling to 24 per cent from April and 22 per cent by 2014.

Funding Assistance

A National Loan Guarantee Scheme – which will help guarantee £20billion of bank lending to companies. Though some banks will not join, and others are already suggesting that the minimum loan will be £25,000. Estimated saving to the business is only around 1%.

Business rates

Due to go up by 5.6 per cent in April but no help in the budget, and some are suggesting more problems for the high street.

Employers National Insurance

No change – so still only the Youth Contract announced last year, which provides £1billion to help businesses take on unemployed youngsters.

Cutting red tape

Some limited plans to cut red tape – but perhaps not really going far enough!

Enterprising new ideas

Consideration to establishing Enterprise Loans for young people starting their own business.