Northumberland companies are being boosted by large-scale support programmes, which are helping them to diversify and supercharge their growth plans across the rural economy. Advance Northumberland looks at the success to date - and urges businesses who want to benefit to get in touch.
‘I’m really optimistic about the future,” says Ralph Thompson, owner of Alnwick-based Silvermoor Ltd. ”We have loads of new products in the pipeline to launch and also opportunities with export as well.”
These are exciting times for Ralph and his team, who produce haylage for the equestrian, dairy and poultry sectors.
Silvermoor’s growth has been supported by the North of Tyne Rural Business Growth Service Programme, which helps micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the rural areas of Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside.
The programme – delivered by Advance Northumberland and Northumberland County Council and part funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority – will assist more than 300 businesses on their growth journeys by 2023. More than £1 million of support has been awarded to date. And just under £1 million is still available for businesses to tap into.
The programme offers a Capital Grant Investment Fund to support investment in projects that enable rural businesses to expand productive capacity and / or diversify into new markets or products, which will lead to new job creation.
In addition, its Business Advice and Support Services can help companies with the development of growth plans and guide them towards appropriate sources of finance. There’s a single point of contact, with access to 1-2-1 specialist advice via Technical Advisors that specialise in business planning, financial planning and management, financial projections, supply chain, resilience planning, legal advice and taxation.
Powering expansion, workforce development and diversification
In Silvermoor’s case, the £57,974 worth of grant assistance received under the North of Tyne Rural Business Growth Service Programme has helped the company tackle new markets. Visit the company’s site and you’ll find new bailers, a new briquette machine and a new forklift truck, which are powering its progression.
The investment also provided a catalyst for workforce development, with the appointment of several new machine operators.
For Glendale Engineering Milfield Ltd – a Wooler-based company specialising in largescale commercial and agricultural steel frame construction – the programme has helped to fund plant machinery, create new jobs and enable diversification.
The firm was awarded £42,640 through the programme, which supported the purchase of a 14-tonne excavator with steel wrist tilt rotator: this has enabled it to engage and complete civil engineering works along with the manufacture and erection of steel frames on large scale construction projects.
The result? Glendale Engineering can take on larger scale projects and it has been able to start a new arm of the business specialising in ground works: four new staff members were taken on to support this. Paul McKenna, Glendale Engineering Finance Director, is in no doubt of the programme’s impact. ”This expansion project into ground works has been in our business plans for some time now as we were receiving more and more enquiries to deliver the complete package from civils to structural steel, including M&E,” he explains. ”We would not have been able to get this project off the ground in such a timely manner without this support.” The programme has also made a big impact on Pilgrims Gelato, which sells vegan gelato from its shop on Holy Island. Funding of £23,053 has supported the creation of a purpose-built production facility in Denwick, and helped Pilgrims Gelato extend its reach to tourism hotspots across the North East.
”The future looks really exciting,” says owner Charlotte Thompson.
And for Mousen Ltd – named after its location near Bamburgh – grant funding of £150,000 supported investment into a factory to produce environmentally-friendly heat briquettes and compost briquettes. The company, which is part of the Calibrate Group, states that the investment in the site will help to create new job opportunities.
