Best of Both Hubs

This event is delivered in partnership between D2N2 Growth Hub and Sheffield City Region Growth Hub and is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Following the success of the first Best of Both Hubs conference in March this year, a second event has been planned to focus on the finance and investment streams that are available across D2N2 and Sheffield City Region to help with your business growth.

Highlights will include:

• A keynote speech from a local, leading business on their investment journey.
• A choice of workshops including financial support and benefits for research and development, capital expenditure, investment readiness and alternative finance.
• Real case study examples from Growth Hub clients – imovesdance and Alpharail.

Plus there will be plenty of opportunity to meet with your local Growth Hub advisers, make new connections with other local businesses and enjoy a networking lunch.

Who should attend?

This event is open to all small or medium-sized enterprises that are located in Derbyshire Dales, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire, Bolsover or Bassetlaw.

ERDF

This workshop is part-funded via the European Regional Development Fund, therefore we are required to evidence that you are a small to medium enterprise.

There will be a couple of forms that will need to be completed either prior to the event or on the day and these will be sent to you once you have registered. One form is to ensure you are a small to medium enterprise, the second is to capture any business support you have received over the last 3 years to ensure you haven’t exceeded €200,000. If you have previously completed these forms at a Growth Hub event you will not have to complete another set.

Agenda

8am – 9am: Registration, breakfast and networking

9am: Conference open and welcome

9.10am: Keynote Speaker

9.55am: Growth Hubs Overview:

10.10am: Workshop Choice 1

10.55am: Tea and coffee break

11.15am: Workshop Choice 2

12 noon: Case Studies

12.30pm: Closing remarks

12.45pm: Lunch and networking

2pm: Finish

Speakers and Workshop Presenters

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Phil Tooley, Business Consultant, Champion for Disability Rights and Lifelong Spireite!

Phil is a Consultant with Derby based R&D Tax Credits Specialist randd uk. In the five years he’s been working in the field, he has earned over £20m for his clients with the average value per claim being in the region of £45,000.

Phil has always lived in and around Chesterfield and he’s well known for his passion for Chesterfield Football Club. Forty years a volunteer around The Spireites, he’s also provided column inches in many local papers about the club and for thirty years, he’s been a familiar voice on local radio providing coverage of the team. Back in 2014, he led the fundraising efforts that raised over £35,000 in less than nine months to enable a Memorial Garden to be constructed at the rear of the Proact Stadium.

For much of his working career, Phil has worked in the building materials field for the likes of ECC and Tarmac, whilst he’s also spent time in the world of education, running the business side of schools in both the public and private sectors. Production control and logistics are his areas of specialism.

He is also a non-executive director of a £45m turnover housing association, Ripley based Futures Housing Group, and he’s been Chair of its social enterprise arm, Futures Greenscape, from its incorporation in 2011 through to its current position of being a successful £1.7m turnover business.

Phil seeks to champion the rights of the disabled having experienced many dissatisfactory elements of service with his wife, Sylvia, who uses a wheelchair due to having secondary progresive multiple sclerosis.

Phil is also passionate about good food and drink; he regularly hosts drinks events, with malt whisky being the most regular tipple, and he can occasionally be found in some of the country’s most celebrated restaurants enjoying the fruits of the chef’s labour.

Case Study Speakers

Ian Pickles, imovesdance

Mark Sipson, Alpharail

Workshop Options

When you register to book you will have the opportunity to select two of the following workshops as your preferred options.

Workshop 1 – Research and Development

Investment in R&D can support businesses in creating a crucial competitive edge, identify new products and services, and deliver improved income levels. All of which are crucial in the long term success of the business. Investment can also bring about improved awareness and reputation of a business leading to improved income generation and customer loyalty. There are tax breaks and financial support opportunities too as government policies favour businesses actively engaging in R&D. We will provide you with an overview of the support available and how to best maximise it for your business.

Speakers:

Tom Whitworth, Shorts

Nigel Walker, Innovate UK

Matt Symonds, TBAT

Workshop 2 – Capital Expenditure

Large investments in equipment, premises etc can be financially challenging as they are rewarding. NPIF and MEIF are two major regional programmes designed to support capital investment in businesses. We’ll provide you with information on how you can take advantage of these programmes and others in supporting your business growth aspirations.

Speakers:

Jonathan Lowe, Maven

Rachel Fletcher, AFCOE

Steve Smith, Natwest

Workshop 3 – Investment Readiness

Attracting investment for businesses isn’t easy. Raising capital is a crucial strategic decision for any business, and there are different types of money available from different sources. Established businesses may be able to service debt finance whilst pre or early revenue high growth businesses may find equity investment more suitable. This workshop will look at the most appropriate investment to strive for and crucially what the investors will want to see from you.

Speakers:

David Best, Mercia

Don Gray, BHP

Speaker 3 – to be confirmed

Workshop 4 – Alternative Finance

Looking for alternative options to finance a project or generate working capital? The rise of Crowdfunding, Angel investors and Peer to Peer lending have grown rapidly in recent years and is worth an estimated. The value of SME peer-to-peer invoice finance deals (up 68% to £0.59bn) and peer-to-peer business lending (up 51% to £1.78bn) in 2017 both showed strong growth, and the entire alternative market is now worth in excess of £5bn in the UK.

Speakers

Martin Avison: Financial Pulse Ltd

Kim Stephenson, Midlands Asset Finance

Sandy Reid, Mercia