Bristol’s small and medium-sized firms should use the next two years to get ‘Brexit-ready’, according to the area’s business support service GetSet for Growth.
The organisation, which has just marked its one-year anniversary, said the EU referendum result had already triggered an increase in the number of businesses seeking support for plans to capitalise on the weaker pound and to export to alternative markets.
At a recent event to celebrate its first year in operation, GetSet for Growth said it was ready to help firms deal with the likely impact of Brexit, which is expected to happen at the end of March 2019.
GetSet for Growth, which is funded by the government’s Regional Growth Fund, has helped more than 450 businesses across the West of England raise £1.5m in investment and create 100 jobs over the past 12 months.
Its services include workshops, mentoring and masterclasses in subjects from accessing finance to marketing and exporting for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Project director Phil Stott said: “Over the past year we’ve seen incredible demand for our business support services.
“But SMEs now operate in different times following the EU referendum result. In the run-up to March 2019, SMEs should take the opportunity to get Brexit-ready.
“The trade environment could be completely different in just two years. So businesses need to plan ahead and think what skills, advice and support they need now to avoid a crunch moment in early 2019.
“I anticipate wider impact on business decision-making as the UK’s withdrawal from the EU approaches. GetSet for Growth is ready to support SMEs in the West with the springboard they need to thrive and grow.”
GetSet for Growth aims to have helped close to 700 businesses across the West by July next year, creating a further 120 jobs and £1m of finance, as well as also acting as a conduit for further SME funding and finance.
The guest speaker at the first anniversary event was Tristan Hogg, co-founder of Bristol pie firm Pieminister.
He said: “Businesses in the West have a strong creative and entrepreneurial spirit. But even we need inspiration, support and ideas from outside the business, which is where organisations with extensive experience, like GetSet for Growth, come in.
“For Pieminister, the 13 years since we got up-and-running has gone in a flash. In business planning terms, March 2019 is fast approaching and the time to plan and upskill for company growth which adapts to a new, post-EU trading environment is now.”
Among GetSet for Growth’s Bristol clients is engineering consultancy Stirling Dynamics.
Its research and development manager Simon Hancock said: “We realised that we have been successful with our existing markets and customers, but we needed to change the way we spoke to new audiences.
“We wanted to show our core values and what makes us different to our competitors. GetSet for Growth is helping us to express ourselves.
“Our major potential growth is in export, so how we market ourselves and communicate with our customers is critical. That’s where Phil and his team have been really helpful – they quickly understood our company culture and business and what we wanted to achieve.”
Pictured: GetSet for Growth West of England project director Phil Stott, left, with Pieminister co-founder Tristan Hogg
