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emda announces new support for aspiring high growth business

26/03/2010

East Midlands Development Agency (emda), has today announced that is seeking 50 potential high growth businesses from across the East Midlands to take part in its new support programme for high growth businesses, called Coaching for High Growth.

Funded by emda and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Coaching for High Growth is part of Government's Solutions for Business portfolio, a suite of highly targeted, publicly funded products and services offering solutions to real business needs.

Coaching for High Growth provides participating businesses an intensive and bespoke package of support over a 12 month period, to help them unlock their high growth potential. 

Demand for places on Coaching for High Growth is expected to be high, so businesses with ambitious growth plans for 2010 and beyond are encouraged to apply early.

The support provided to each company is based around 1-2-1 coaching, with the programme carefully matching the needs of each business with a specialist and knowledgable growth coach, who will then work with the business to pin-point barriers to growth and put in place a clear growth strategy.

Alongside the coaching, each business has access to a programme of masterclasses, which provide further support to help the business and senior managers to prepare their business for growth using the latest tools and techniques.

The support offered will help business to:

In total, the support is worth at least £20,000 to each business and participating businesses are required to provide just £2,000 to contribute towards the costs.

The support offered by Coaching for High Growth is client led, with the coach working with each business based around their own needs and priorities. Previous participants in emda's high growth programmes have reported that the support has had an overall positive influence on long term growth prospects, resulted in new business opportunities, increased teamwork and had an impact on bottom line performance.

To be eligible, businesses must have fewer than 250 employees, turnover between £500,000 and £40 million in their last financial year and the potential to increase sales by 20% per annum per year for the next three years.

Coaching for High Growth builds on emda's successful High Growth East Midlands programme, which has supported nearly 170 businesses since it was launched in early 2008. Over 1,000 jobs have been created or safeguarded and collectively businesses on the programme are forecast to increase their Gross Value Added (GVA) by £60 million.

emda's Executive Director of Business Services, Michael Carr, said: "Coaching for High Growth continues our investment to support the region's potential high growth business. The intensive and bespoke package of support is based on a proven formula to help businesses unlock their growth potential and can have a real impact on business performance.

"This programme of support can help businesses to maximise their high growth potential and I would strongly encourage all ambitious businesses to come forward and apply."

Coaching for High Growth is funded by emda and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

For further details on Coaching for High Growth go to www.emda.org.uk/coaching or call 0845 644 6963

The online application form is straightforward and can be completed in no more than 15 minutes. This will then help to assess the applicant business's suitability.

ENDS

For further information please contact Nick King Media and PR Manager on 0115 988 8375; email: nickking@emd.org.uk

About emda
 
East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development.

Ten years on, independent evaluation shows emda has:

· Had a significant impact on the region's economy

· Generated economic benefits that substantially outweigh its overall costs

· Put back over £9 of economic output (or GVA) into the regional economy for every £1 it spends

· Produced more than £1 billion in economic benefits per year

• A wider impact on people, places and businesses in the East Midlands that cannot be captured by figures alone.

emda is committed to supporting the region through the current downturn and has put in place a range of measures to provide real help during these challenging times. 

Over the long term, emda's aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) by working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations. The RES highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and sets out key priorities until 2020 to ensure the vision for 'a flourishing region' can be achieved. 

For more details visit www.emda.org.uk
East Midlands 2007-13 ERDF Competitiveness Programme

Notes to Editors

About ERDF nationally

The ERDF Programme aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union by supporting regional economic development.

The ERDF objectives for England are:
 Promoting innovation and knowledge transfer
 Stimulating  enterprise and supporting successful business
 Ensuring sustainable development, production and consumption
 Building sustainable communities
 Improving accessibility and connectivity (for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly only - as part of their Convergence Programme).

A Programme Monitoring Committee consisting of regional stakeholders such as Government Offices, RDAs, Regional Assemblies, Local Authorities, Sub-regional Partnerships, Higher Education Institutions, Trade Unions, and the private and voluntary sectors will monitor and oversee programme implementation in each region.

For more information on ERDF funding generally, please visit www.communities.gov.uk/citiesandregions/european or http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/feder/index_en.htm

About ERDF in the East Midlands

The East Midlands is eligible for €268.5m (approximately £236m at current exchange rates) between 2007 and 2013, which when combined with match funding, provides a programme value of approximately £472m - a significant investment in the economic development of the region.

The East Midlands qualifies as a competitiveness and employment region under the EU's Cohesion Policy, which aims to meet the EU Lisbon objective to become 'the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social inclusion.'

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is responsible for the programme management and delivery of the region's 2007-13 ERDF Competitiveness Programme. The responsibility for ERDF programme management was transferred from the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM) to emda following a decision by the UK Government to seek greater alignment between ERDF and regional strategies and funding streams. The 2007-13 ERDF Programme is therefore set firmly within the framework of the Regional Economic Strategy.

A Programme Monitoring Committee, chaired by the Regional Director of Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM), guides the strategic direction of the programme and works closely with emda.

To find out more about ERDF, the region's strategy for delivering the funds, how to apply for funding and how the programme is managed, please visit www.eastmidlandserdf.org.uk