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Could your business benefit from the Transition Loan Fund?
Read how one Tadcaster business was saved from closure by taking advantage of our new Transition Loan Fund. And it was a member of
Yorkshire
CASE STUDY: TID Services
Six weeks ago, TID Services was facing cash flow problems severe enough to threaten the business. Despite over £120,000 of work on its books, this small building contractor had been refused support by the banks. And owner Mike Tyrell was facing the possibility of having to close his business.
The reason for the problem
TID is a small business employing 8 full-time staff and had good prospects through its order book for construction and renovation projects. The cash flow problem was simply one of timing: like all construction companies, TID needs to buy materials up-front before they can begin a project.
As Mike points out: “Traditionally, suppliers give you credit for goods, and then we take staged payments from our clients to cover those costs. However, because of the current recession, many suppliers are now asking for immediate payments. Our customers understandably want us to complete their work before they pay for it, so we were getting squeezed hard between the two.”
Trying to get a credit facility
TID needed a credit facility to buy these supplies and maintain the business, but their bank said they couldn’t help. Feeling frustrated, Mike appeared on BBC Look North to tell his story, and things immediately started to look up. Fortunately, a member of staff at Yorkshire Forward saw the programme, and thought the Transition Loan Fund may be able to help.
The Transition Loan Fund
The £5m Transition Loan Fund was launched by Yorkshire Forward in February 2009 to provide viable businesses that had been refused finance from their banks with a loan to meet a shortage of working capital.
We asked one of our delivery partners for the fund, Business Enterprise Fund, to track Mike down and to find out if his business was eligible for support. A specialist advisor worked closely with him, looking at his business plan and his loan needs. And last month, the fund agreed a £30,000 loan which has helped to secure the future of the company and the jobs of its 8 employees.
Support to date
So far, the Transition Loan Fund has helped 14 of the region’s businesses and safeguarded 58 jobs. Further investments are in the pipeline.
Could you benefit?
The message from Alex McWhirter, assistant director of enterprise at Yorkshire Forward, is this:
“I’d urge companies in a similar situation to consider whether they could benefit from this support. If so, they should get in touch with Business Link Yorkshire. We want to help as many viable businesses as we can through our various business support services but the amount we can lend through the Transition Loan Fund is restricted by our budget.”
Find out more
Companies can contact 
Business Link Yorkshire
on 08456 048048.
13/05/2009
UK Media Desk Newsletter
12 May 2009 NEWS Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces), directed by Pedro Almodovar This year there are 17 MEDIA-funded films screening at Cannes International Film Festival, which share a total of over €3 million in funds from the MEDIA Programme. Films include Pedro Almodovar's Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces),Ken Loach's Looking for Eric and Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank.Read more The MEDIA Programme will hold an Information Day on 15 May during the Cannes International Film Festival. The day will include presentations on MEDIA-supported VOD projects and a seminar on MEDIA International. Read more Adrian Sturges, Producer on the Move 2009 UK producer Adrian Sturges has been selected to participate in the prestigious Producers on the Move programme which celebrates its 10th Anniversary during the Cannes Film Festival. Sturges is amongst 23 up-and-coming independent European producers taking part in the programme which aims to increase the producers' international profiles. Read more This year's European Audiovisual Observatory afternoon seminar in Cannes is entitled Show Me the Money! Monitoring film revenues and collecting rightsholders' money. It will take place from 4-6pm on 17 May 2009 at the Salon des Ambassadeurs, Palais des Festivals. The conference is freely accessible to all those holding a festival or market accreditation, but registration is necessary. Read more Eight European training courses including Sources 2, ACE, EAVE and Insight Out, will be presented during Cannes at a workshop organised by MEDIA Desk France with the Antennae of Strasbourg and Marseilles. The workshop will give filmmakers a chance to speak to representatives from the courses. It will take place on 17 May from 3pm - 5pm at Espace Pantiero. Read more The Call is still open for applications to this year's MEDIA International scheme, which aims to reinforce co-operation between EU and non-European professionals from the audiovisual industry, on the basis of mutual benefit. MEDIA International has a budget of €5 million and runs in parallel to the existing MEDIA 2007 Programme. Read more Gomorrah, directed by Matteo Garrone European distributors have until 29 May to apply for grants. The scheme rewards distributors for all paid admissions for European non-national films they have released in a year. Read more The latest results have been published for the MEDIA Selective Scheme (deadline 1 December 2008). 34 titles were selected in this round, with €3.9 million being awarded for their theatrical release costs. British distributors received €312,000 to release eight European titles in the UK and Slumdog Millionaire received €635,000 for its European releases. Read more MEDIA will support 24 promotional events in the second half of 2009, which improve European audiovisual professionals' access to markets. Amongst the winning bids are the well-established Cartoon Forum, Sunny Side of the Doc and The Amsterdam FORUM for Co-financing Documentaries. Read more Igam Ogam, produced by Calon, received MEDIA TV Broadcasting funding The latest results have been published for MEDIA's Television Broadcasting funding scheme and over €3.7 million has been awarded to independent production companies across Europe. From the UK Calon and Brook Lapping Productions were both awarded funds. Read more The MEDIA Programme Unit at the European Commission has published a study on the role of SMEs and European audiovisual works in the context of the fast changing and converging home entertainment sector (PayTV, home video, video-on-demand, video games, internet, etc).Read more MEDIA Desks across Europe have changed their web and email addresses in order to be consistent with one another. Our new name is MEDIA Desk UK and our new web address iswww.mediadeskuk.eu. For all MEDIA contact details in the UK read more. FUNDING Producer's Support - TV Broadcasting 26 June 2009 Producer's Support - i2i Audiovisual 7 July 2009 Distribution - Automatic Scheme 29 May 2009 Distribution - Selective Scheme 1 July 2009 MEDIA International - 2 June 2009 UK MEDIA offices are supporting pitching and marketplace workshops aimed at preparing producers for The Sheffield Doc/Fest and MeetMarket. The workshops will be held in Edinburgh, London and Cardiff over the coming months. For more information and details of how to reserve a place read more The call for submissions for the 13th edition of Documentary in Europe has opened. Submissions are invited for both the Match Making session and Pitching Forum. The deadline is 13 May 2009. Read more MEDIA Stand at Marché du Film Cannes Film Festival, 13-22 May, France EFP presents Producers on the Move, 13-24 May, France Cracow Film Festival, 29 May-4 June, Poland Zlin International Film Festival for Children and Youth, 31 May-7 June, Czech Republic Midnight Sun Film Festival, 10-14 June, Finland MIFA Annecy International Animation Market, 10-12 June, France Sunnyside of the Doc, 23-26 June, France EFP presents Variety Critics' Choice: Europe Now, 3-11 July, Czech Republic Vila do Conde International Short Film Festival, 4-12 July, Portugal Documentary in Europe, 8-11 July, Italy ERA New Horizons Film Festival, 23 July - 2 August, Poland To see the complete list of upcoming markets and events, which you can sort either by date of submission or date of the market / event itself, click here Documentary Campus (formerly known as Discovery Campus) runs its well-regarded Masterschool every year, with four Open Training Sessions running alongside it. This year's 2nd Open Training Session, Faster, Leaner, Keener, Meaner - Survival of the Fittest in Factual, is coming to Manchester in May. Deadline to register is 15 May 2009. The session will focus on recession survival strategies, looking at more cost-effective production methods, as well as introducing new players in the international television industry. Read more Media Business School is back with its highly successful Marketing & Distribution (MD) course which focuses on the marketing and distribution of feature films and is aimed at European film executives with experience in production, marketing, distribution, acquisitions, sales or exhibition. Applications are also accepted until 1 June 2009 from marketing executives from other fields, wishing to move into the film industry. Read more Media Business School is also introducing a new course this summer, Multi Platforms Business School (MPBS) for which potential applicants need to apply by 9 June 2009. MPBS is a project-based workshop designed to give producers of audiovisual content a creative environment in which they can advance the development of their multi-platform project. The target trainees are producers, designers and directors of audio-visual content for exploitation on TV, web, PC, game consoles and mobile devices. Read more The following courses for audiovisual professionals are also currently accepting applications: Screenwriting Management L'Atelier - Masterclass 2009-2010 L'Atelier - Masterclass is a year-long training programme for budding European film producers and distributors. It is aimed at European graduates of film schools and/or professionals with several years of professional experience in film. Deadline: 29 May 2009. Read more PRIMEPACKAGING 2009 PRIMEPACKAGING provides comprehensive support in script development, market research, financing, distribution, world sales and games/interactive media. The course offers two full scholarships. Deadline: 5 June 2009. Read more Cartoon Masters 2009 Cartoon Masters training events are specially designed for the animation industry, to bring professionals up to speed with all the latest issues. Cartoon Digital has already taken place, but there are two workshops remaining, Cartoon Finance and Cartoon Digital. Next up will be Cartoon Finance, taking place in Munich, Germany, in June. Deadline: 15 June 2009. Read more ACE 2009 ACE offers continuous training for advanced producers who have already produced one feature film. Applicants need to have an internationally-targeted feature film project in development. ACE lasts 14 months, from November 2009 to December 2010. Deadline: 22 June 2009. Read more New Technologies TOSMI 2009 TOSMI focuses on Blender (open source software) and features sessions dedicated to modeling, animation, materials, lighting, rendering, compositing, sound and video editing. Participants are trained to work with open source solutions, and to customise them to their needs, enabling independent professionals to produce quality content at lower production costs. Deadline: 20 June 2009. Read more Marketing/Distribution CICAE: Art Cinema = Action Management CICAE's Art Cinema = Action Management course is about developing the skills necessary to manage an arthouse cinema. The course includes: background essentials, case studies, masterclasses and workshops. The format of this intense programme is designed to foster interaction between the participants. Deadline: 29 May 2009. Read more Initial Training Summer Media Studio Summer Media Studio is an international film workshop for European film students. The Studio is a blend of theoretical and practical training and will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, in the summer. Each team will develop then shoot a short documentary film with a professional crew.Deadline: 15 May 2009. Read more To see the complete list of upcoming training courses, which you can sort either by date of submission or date of the training itself, click here. MEDIA training guide for 2009
17 MEDIA-funded films in Cannes
MEDIA Information Day in Cannes
Producers on the Move - Adrian Sturges
European Audiovisual Observatory seminar in Cannes
Meet MEDIA-funded training courses in Cannes
MEDIA International - €5 million budget for 2009
Automatic scheme closes on 29 May
€4 million for European theatrical releases
24 promotional events share €2.6 million of MEDIA support
€3.7 million MEDIA funding awarded to TV productions
European Commission publishes a report on home entertainment
MEDIA Desk UK - new web and email addresses
Upcoming MEDIA deadlines:
NETWORKING
MeetMarket Pitching Workshops - Edinburgh, London and Cardiff
Documentary in Europe - call for submissions
Forthcoming events
Networking Calendar
TRAINING
Documentary Campus in ManchesterMedia Business School - Marketing & Distribution (MD)
Multi Platforms Business School
eQuinoxe Germany: International Screenwriters' Workshops and Masterclasses
The International Screenwriter's Workshops and Masterclasses offer intensive and comprehensive one-on-one advisor/writer training. The aim of the workshops is to provide writers with the tools to improve their storytelling skills. Deadline: 29 May 2009. Read more
ScripTeast 2009
ScripTeast is a programme for experienced authors, to help screenwriters predominantly from Eastern and Central Europe to overcome the barriers they face. The initial workshop takes place in Sterdyn, Poland, with further sessions in Berlin and Cannes next year. Deadline: 30 June 2009. Read more
SOURCES 2 - Script Development Workshops
SOURCES 2 is an advanced training programme for European film professionals working in the field of script and story development. SOURCES 2 Script Development Workshops consist of a seven-day workshop, followed by a small group session or an individual consultation. Apply now for the third workshop, taking place in Graz, Austria, in November. Deadline: 1 July 2009. Read more
Training Calendar
The 2009 edition of Where to be Trained in Europe, which lists all MEDIA-supported continuous training courses, is also available. You can download it by clicking here.
Change your account settingsFree Small and Medium Sized Business Support Programmes
This update e-mail contains a number of entries - please scroll down.
Free Small and Medium Sized Business Support Programmes
The SME Knowledge Network @ Bradford University School of Management, a World Class Business School.
June 2009
Leading Successful Change
2nd and 3rd June (2 day workshop)
Leading Successful Change helps leaders develop the skills they need to bring about lasting change with minimum disruption to operations. It provides them with specific guidance and the opportunity to work with a toolkit of practical techniques for engaging their people positively in achieving change. Key learning outcomes include:
· Understand the root causes of why people struggle with change – the 5 forces of change
· Learn lessons from a variety of case study examples from business and public organisations
· Work together to apply practical techniques for avoiding the pitfalls of change and for engaging people positively with change
· Learn how to equip your senior and middle managers to become successful change leaders in their own areas
· Learn how to embed change within your organisation so that it sticks
If you would like to sign up to this event please contact us on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Mediation in context
3rd and 4th June (2 day workshop)
Mediation for Managers provides participants with a thorough understanding of the principles and practices of mediation, and how best to apply them when employees are in dispute. The workshop gives participants improved communication and problem solving skills and allow them to work more effectively with complex and highly emotional complaints. Participants will learn how to effectively persuade staff and service users to resolve complaints through mediation and how to structure an effective mediation session. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the common reasons for workplace conflict
- Identify the key concepts of mediation
- Successfully persuade employees to participate in mediation
- Structure a effective face-to-face mediation session
- Use effective communication skills to build rapport and identify the interests of employees
- Help employees take a constructive approach to conflict that involves looking for win/win agreements
- Improve communication and understanding between employees
- Identify how mediation can fit into their organisation’s strategic approach to managing employee disputes
If you would like to sign up to this event please contact us on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Exit Strategy - Evening Workshop - 9th June
Heaton Mount, Bradford University School of Management
5.00 - 5.30pm registration, followed by the speakers and then a networking buffet at 7.15pm
This session helps to pull the jigsaw together – what are the short and medium term preparations for sale or succession. What exactly should you be thinking about when it comes to moving on? How do you realise the value in the business – what are the key valuation methods? How do you make sure it’s in a safe pair of hands? Intermediaries – who should you be talking to and what about? Preparation up front is important – a business needs to be in a fit and attractive state to pass it on, don’t leave until the last minute, forewarned is forearmed.
If you would like to sign up to this event please contact us on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Influencing and Negotiation
9th and 10th June (2 day workshop)
The successful leader builds and maintains contacts within and outside the organization, challenges conventional thinking and introduces new perspectives. Influencing and negotiations have a lasting impact on organizational performance and culture. Yet, we tend to negotiate without preparation, resulting in poor outcomes and unworkable relationships. This workshop explores the need for effective influencing skills, considers influencing strategies and explores best practice negotiation practices. Key areas that will be addressed in the group are:
• Mapping your preferred influencing style
• Identifying strengths and limitations
• Preferred behaviour characteristics
• The negotiating process, including buyer and seller strategies and planning for negotiation
• Negotiation phases, including recognition signals
• Making and controlling concessions
• Managing the finish/closing the deal.
If you would like to sign up to this event please contact us on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Working on Sales
8th and 15th June (staggered 2 day workshop)
This is a staggered two day workshop taking you from basic to advanced sales skills working in the real context of your own businesses’ sales issues and working out what you need to do to take your business to the next level in sales. It will develop your understanding of the mindset of your customers and getting close to them, and then how to manage the relationship and customer contact through to sale and after. Key areas that will be addressed in the group are:
· The Psychology of Selling
· Motivating & Relating to Customers & Clients
· The Power of the Telephone as a Sales Tool
· Promoting, Presenting & Packaging Your Products & Services
· Managing Successful Sales Meetings
· Making a Successful Sales Presentation
· Objection Management
· Negotiation Techniques
· Preparing a Powerful Proposal
· Closing the Deal – Techniques to Increase Your Closure Rate
· Sales Forecasting – Focusing Efforts on Winnable Business
· Building a Sales Network
If you would like to sign up to these events please contact us on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Director Support Network
This Network is FREE and encompasses small groups of Directors working together to identify and unpack business problems and formulate ways of tackling these from the experience of the group. Group sessions are professionally facilitated and can be supported by coaching in between sessions which allows you to embed solutions in the workplace and to keep a check on implementation. Additional expert advice, should it be required, is drawn into the group. If the group decides it needs a specific knowledge input, whatever that might be, for example on marketing or strategy. Research indicates this is one of the most effective Learning and Support mechanisms for Directors.
Group sessions last for a morning or an afternoon and there are typically about six meetings in a six month period. If you would like to sign up to the Director Support Network please contact us on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Owen Whitehouse
Associate Director
SME Knowledge Network
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>