Chamber News

But did you know there is a broadband voucher scheme available where you can claim up to £3,000 against the cost of connection?

Full fibre broadband connections offer the fastest and most reliable speeds available, and the Department of Digital, Culture Media and Sport has a UK-wide £67m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which is open to Norfolk businesses and residents.

Gigabit vouchers can be used by small businesses and the local communities surrounding them to contribute to the installation cost of a gigabit capable connection. Businesses can claim up to £3,000 against the cost of connection, either individually or as part of a group project. 

It is also possible for multiple businesses to pool their vouchers i.e. if there are 10 businesses on a business park and they all apply, that’s £30,000 towards the connection costs (for installation and other year 1 costs).

For more information and how to apply click here

On Tuesday 02 October 2018, Fiona Ryder became the President of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce for a two year term of office.

In her inaugural speech, Ms Ryder, the Managing Director of TCD Media, outlined her key themes for her term.  She choose innovation and outlined that with the ‘B’ word of Brexit looming early next year, businesses in Norfolk will need to innovate, modernise and apply new ways of thinking to deal with potential  new border controls; manage complex supply chain issues; and improve their productivity.

Fiona, also evoked the ‘F’word.  As only the second ‘Female’ Chamber President in 122 years, she was keen to promote modernisation of corporate culture and our boardrooms to ensure better economic outcomes for Norfolk businesses.  She noted that in 2011 only 12.5% of FTSE 350 companies had women on their boards, whilst just 7 years later that figure is now at around 25%, but more work still needs to be done.

She promised to bring her energy, passion and innovation into her role as President and she will be pushing for change and championing initiatives that will raise awareness and effect positive change for our region.

For over fifteen years the Norfolk Voice has been communicating with our members through print and digital editions of the magazine. The publication has always acted as one of our key lines of communication for our members, containing a range of information from Members News, Chamber News, the Big Interview, featured articles, policy information, events, training information, and the last word.

Like many businesses, the Chamber now has several ways in which we and our members can communicate our news, events, and campaigns. For example, on our social media channels and the Chamber website. These channels act as a direct, instant, and current form of communication, as well as having a wider reach to the business community. Often the social media platforms can hold more current and upto-date content than the printed page. With this in mind, all of these elements have given the Chamber an opportunity for reflection and a chance to question how we can develop our magazine, to continue to ensure it acts as a professional and engaging read for the business community. Our plan for the magazine moving forward is for it to have a re-brand, re-style, new content, and a new publisher based in Norfolk.

The re-launch for the magazine is planned for early 2019. However, before we embark on these changes it would be good to get your feedback on the project. We have created a short questionnaire for you to add your feedback before Friday 12 October. Click on the link to have your say: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9W3GN7X

Norfolk Voice will be having a break for the next edition Nov/Dec, this is due to the changes being made. However, if you have any news articles you wish to share in the meantime, there is our website and social media platforms. You can add details to your own chamber page. Do let us know if you need any help at hello@norfolk.chamber.co.uk or 01603 625977

The 1st October means one thing for the Norfolk Chamber calendar; The B2B Exhibition. Taking over two floors of Norwich City Football Club, B2B hosts over 100 business exhibitors for one day of face to face networking and relationship building – and it’s free to attend!  Taking place on Thursday 11 October, 10AM-4PM, B2B brings together businesses from across Norfolk with a wide range of sectors and businesses sizes. You’ll find everything from printing to banking, charities to staff wellbeing, and so much more; B2B has solutions for your business needs.  B2B has plenty to offer with our exhibitors running exclusive offers, competitions and giveaways on the day. There are discounted training courses, coffee machines up for grabs, free website proofreading and even the chance to win a Big Cat Experience at Banham Zoo! You can see some of these exclusive offers on the B2B page by clicking here.  Norfolk Chamber are also partnered with Ten-Go to offer you the chance to win a cash prize in our exhibition treasure trail. Grab a stamp card on arrival, visit our 10 stands exclusively taking part, hand your card back in when you leave and you’ll be entered to win a cash prize! If you visit the stands in a random, pre-generated order you could win a bigger cash prize of £5,000! Find out more. The exhibition isn’t just about its exhibitors though! Throughout the day you can expand your knowledge in our free 20 minute masterclasses delivered by expert trainers. These four sessions will give you bite-size, takeaway tips to help grow your business. Find out more. We also have a dedicated networking lounge where you can set up meetings, take a break from the exhibition with refreshments served all day, or just have a visit to see who is around. You never know who you’ll meet with over 750 attendees expected on the day.  Don’t forget to prepare yourself ahead of the day! Our B2B supplement will be released into the EDP on Wednesday 3 October. Grab your copy to read about our exhibitors and find out full details ahead of the big day! You can book your free tickets online now, B2B is open to all businesses to attend! Booking in advance will mean you can skip the queues on the day by simply handing in your ticket, and you’ll be entered into our prize draw to win one of four £25 Jarrold Vouchers.  BOOK NOW.

Since March this year we have been calling on the business community to show their support for our Just Dual It! Campaign, which aims to get the A47 fully dualled.

Norfolk Chamber, the EDP, and Norfolk County Council have been campaigning to convince the Government to commit to dualling the A47 trunk road from Lowestoft in the east, right across Norfolk and through to Peterborough in the west. 

Currently just 47% of this major route is dual carriageway and while Highways England have committed to making £300m of improvements to the road, including dualling some stretches, this will still leave substantial sections of the A47 as single carriageway, with no current plans to dual them.

Whilst we have received significant support for the campaign from across the east of England, we have been advised by central Government that evidencing support from key businesses along the A47 route will be crucial to our chances of success – which is where you come in.

To date we have received over 70 letters of support from significant businesses across the county – we really want to make it over 100.  If you haven’t sent your letter of support, please do it now.  The business plan must be collated by mid October, so your earliest response would be appreciated.

If you agree with us that the A47 is vital to the region’s economy and believe getting the road fully dualled will benefit your business, please help us to make the case to the Government as strongly as we can by completing the enclosed outline template and returning it to us by either email to: nova.fairbank@norfolkchamber.co.uk

Or by post:

Nova Fairbank

Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

9 Norwich Business Park

Whiting Road

Norwich

NR4 6DJ

We have tried to make it as easy as possible for you to support the campaign, we hope it will take you no more than a few minutes. Your combined support will be vital in helping us to secure the much needed funding to dual the A47.

One of the biggest surveys of business intentions since the EU referendum has found that nearly two-thirds of firms still aren’t preparing for Brexit – and in the event of a ‘no deal’ outcome many would cut investment and recruitment plans.

With just six months to go before the UK leaves the EU, the British Chambers of Commerce is calling for UK ministers to redouble their efforts to reach an agreement with the EU – and ensure a transition period that could help firms prepare for change and prevent a slump in both investment and recruitment. The leading business group presses the need for clarity and precision so that firms can plan for the future with a degree of confidence.

• A fifth of businesses surveyed (21%) will cut investment if there is ‘no deal’, 20% will move part or all of their business to the EU and 18% will cut recruitment – but in the event of a status quo transition these numbers fall dramatically
• 62% of firms still haven’t completed a Brexit risk assessment

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), in partnership with independent business funder, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has conducted one of the biggest surveys of business opinion, since the referendum, amassing the views of over 2,500 firms from across the UK and including those in Norfolk.

‘No deal’ will have real business consequences

Larger firms and those who are internationally active are the most exposed to the ramifications of ‘no deal’. 28% of firms with over 50 employees and 24% of those who export or import internationally say they would cut investment plans.

The fact that one in five businesses (20%) say in a ‘no deal’ scenario they would move part or all of their business to the EU27 is an important wake-up call – both on the need to agree an orderly exit from the EU and on the need for the UK government to enhance incentives for investment.

Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:

“Norfolk businesses are clear that reaching a deal with the EU, which addresses the future terms of trade and provides certainty, must be the government’s number one priority. “The evidence is clear – failure to reach a political agreement would have real-world consequences, with significant decreases in both investment and recruitment. Larger firms and those active in international trade would suffer the most from a disorderly and sudden exit from the EU, but there will be impacts across the board.”

Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:

“Most concerning of all, a significant number of businesses are considering moving part or all of their operations to the EU in the event of ‘no deal’. Government must act urgently and decisively to get a comprehensive deal done. They also need to use the levers they have, such as the upcoming Autumn Statement, to ensure they provide the right conditions for growth at home.”

Edward Winterton, UK CEO of Bibby Financial Services, added:

“After more than two years of uncertainty, SMEs need answers over the future of the UK’s relationship with the EU. Specifically, they want clarity around the Customs Union, access to the Single Market and further detail on the practicalities of implementing this historic change. The consequences of a ‘no deal’ outcome could be disastrous for the 5.7m SMEs in the UK – particularly for those buying and selling goods within the EU.”   

Businesses are unprepared for Brexit

The survey also highlights a concerning lack of Brexit preparation. According to the findings, 62% of UK firms have not done a risk assessment of the impact of Brexit to their business. The figures reflect a huge disparity between the preparations of the largest companies and their smaller counterparts. 69% of micro firms (those with 1-9 employees) have not completed an assessment, compared to 24% of firms with over 250 employees.

With six months to go until the UK leaves the EU, the BCC has found that many SMEs are either awaiting more clarity before they act, or are suffering from ‘Brexit fatigue’ and have switched off from the process because they don’t believe they will be affected. The BCC has created a checklist to help firms consider the changes Brexit may bring to their own firm, customers and suppliers, and to help them plan ahead. Accredited Chambers of Commerce stand ready to support them through the process.

Nova Fairbank added: “Too many businesses across Norfolk are still not ready for Brexit. Many smaller firms don’t have the capacity to scenario plan, don’t think they’ll be affected, or have simply switched off from the process altogether.

“With six months to go until the UK’s planned departure, Norfolk firms still don’t have answers from government to the most basic questions about future trading conditions. The BCC continues to track progress on the key business issues and their risk register shows sufficient progress has been made on only a handful of issues. With so much still unclear, a transition period is vital to allow all firms the time to acknowledge and prepare for change.”

Edward Winterton, UK CEO of Bibby Financial Services, said: “The businesses we work with tell us that they simply don’t have enough information to enable them to prepare for any of the potential outcomes of Brexit. This could negatively impact sales performance and output in the final quarter of the year, which is typically a peak trading period for many businesses throughout the country.”

Greater Norwich is one of 10 city areas that have made the shortlist for the Department of Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund, which would give Greater Norwich a huge boost for  public transport infrastructure.

The shortlist was announced by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.  She said:

“Our great cities and their suburbs are home to millions of people and world-beating businesses.  “We want to help them succeed, so as part of our modern Industrial Strategy we will fund £840 million of upgrades for better, safer, faster transport links.

“These improvements to vital infrastructure will help spread growth beyond London and empower local businesses to create more, better-paying jobs – opening up more opportunities to help people get on in life and be rewarded for their hard work.”

The announcement means that Transport for Norwich (TfN) is in line for a share of an £840m pot of money specifically for promoting intra-city connectivity – aiming to make it easier for people to access jobs, training and retail.

At the heart of the bid, which was put together in partnership between Norfolk, Norwich, Broadland District and South Norfolk councils, is a new high-quality, integrated public transport network for the area.

It highlights three strategic routes to support the Norwich Research Park, Broadland Business Park and the airport industrial estate, each with a focus on where they meet the city centre.

Smart ticketing, cleaner vehicles, real-time information and faster journey times are all features outlined in the vision for Greater Norwich.

Welcoming the news, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:

“The shortlisting of Norwich for the Transforming Cities Fund shows that the government is taking our city’s economic potential seriously.  Further funding will deliver greater transport integration and help businesses driver greater economic growth and jobs for Norfolk.”

Councillor Martin Wilby, Chair of Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Development and Transport Committee, says:

“Greater Norwich is ready for significant investment in public transport so it’s fantastic news that we’ve been shortlisted. Funding through Transforming Cities would help us deliver the integrated network we need to support growth in homes, jobs and the local economy over the coming years.

“We can now look forward to working with the DfT and in collaboration with Transport for Norwich partners to transform how we travel in and around the city.”

The next stage of the process involves the DfT working closely with the TfN team to develop a detailed package of projects to take forward.

Final decisions on the amount of funding will be made once all successful applicants’ proposals have been assessed.

To download a copy of the Greater Norwich bid document, please visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/transformingcities.

Commenting on the latest tranche of technical notices to advise businesses in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber, said:

“While some Norfolk businesses will be reassured by some of the details in these notices, such as around IP protection and geographical indications, the admission that loss of market access is a possibility for others will be deeply unsettling to those affected. There will be major concerns in industries like aviation and road haulage that operate routinely across borders at European scale, that their markets will be fragmented by new licensing or regulatory frameworks.

“If the EU and the UK fail to reach a withdrawal agreement, businesses will urgently need comprehensive answers to the many outstanding questions on business continuity. The government must take every possible step to minimise the disruption and bureaucracy that could face firms in the future.”

For those of us in business in Norfolk – we know how successful the local business community is and we are very much aware of our future potential.  What we are not so good at, is shouting about those successes across the UK and around the world.  The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Regional Business Awards presented a great opportunity for businesses across the Eastern Region to celebrate their success and show how good they were.  And we are delighted to announce that out of the eight categories, Norfolk businesses have been crowned regional winners in six of them.

Commenting on the success of Norfolk, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“Norfolk Chamber strongly believes that our region has some of the finest businesses in the UK and we should be all be promoting them and our region to showcase Norfolk’s true business and economic potential.

“The Chamber Business Awards are a brilliant opportunity for our members to do exactly that and on a national stage.  Norfolk businesses were competing against 5 other counties and we are very proud to have six regional winners.

“We are looking forward to supporting our Norfolk regional winners at the national finals in November and hopefully seeing them win the national titles as well!”

The Eastern Region comprises of Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex,  Hertfordshire and Suffolk and the winning award categories for Norfolk were:

• Best Use of Technology Award – Lintott Control Systems
• Export Business of the Year – Gnaw Chocolate
• Employer of the Year – Liftshare
• High Growth Business of the Year – Pruce Newman Pipework Ltd
• Small Business of the Year – Gnaw Chocolate
• Workplace Wellbeing Award – Larking Gowen LLP

The regional winners will now be invited to the BCC Gala Awards Dinner held on 29th November 2018, in London to compete against the other UK regions for the national crown. 

To view a full list of regional winners click here. 

This event certainly highlighted that the East of England is leading in the Tech revolution. With over twenty of the top industry thought leaders and revolutionaries in Norfolk joining us to share their knowledge and expertise. They gave us clear directions for now and the future, of how to expand our use of technology to support, develop, maintain and grow all our businesses in this accelerating environment. It was a really positive and energising day which helped to brush away to gloomy and negative myths about technology. There was a great buzz at the event with over 180 people attending from all different sectors, wanting to learn more about the current thinking and debates too. So many topics about the world of ‘tech’ were discussed, shared and highlighted. The event helped to break down the barriers to understanding about the new and current technologies, their uses, and how we can apply new technologies to develop our businesses to support, grow and upskill our workforce.   Chris Sargisson our Chief Executive, got the event off to a great start with the introduction of ‘A paper free event.’ This year is the first year the Chamber worked on creating a ‘paperless event’ with the support from Thyngs. All the event information is stored on a re-useble card for each delegate, then you swipe or use your phone camera and the key event information pops up on your phone – Brilliant! The first speaker of the morning was Mark Donaldson, CEO from Casade.bi. Mark’s talk was focused on ‘how to improve your business decisions’. He gave a number of really useful insights into how SME’s can and should embrace technology, as well as ensuring your workforce is supported with educated about technology and the key business goals. His four key tips 1. Customers 2. Products 3. Cash and 4. Pricing, were very useful to supporting and growing all sectors and SME’s.  Following on from this was the first panel discussion, on the topic of ‘Virtual and Augmented Reality,’ with Peter Brady, CEO of Orbital Media, Dr Sabar Sami, University of East Anglia, Ryan Baxter from Viewing and Matthew Martin, Immersive VR. This panel discussion provided a fascinating insight into how VR is being currently used to support in the healthcare industry with particular focus on its aid in dementia research and training surgeons. Our audience sent in their questions throughout the discussion using an online platform called Slido. This brought up other topics such as education, training, marketing, ethics and whether the panel believed VR was ‘all the hype’ or if it would never be fully adopted like the 3D TV. It was a unanimous agreement that VR and AR were here to stay, and grow.  After a great discussion, it was time to move the focus towards technology in marketing. Our second keynote speaker of the morning was Rebecca Lewis Smith, Co-founder and Managing Director of Fountain. Rebecca told the audience that “90% of the data that is currently in existence has been collected in the last two years”. She followed this by encouraging businesses to automate as much of their marketing as possible whilst making sure that the technology used is tied together. Ending her presentation Rebecca emphasised the need to keep measuring, improving and reviewing your marketing strategies, given the rapid changes to marketing tools.  Up next was Mark Cook. Mark is the Digital Marketing Director of Candour and his keynote presentation focused on search engines and the future of digital marketing. Looking back, Mark highlighted how Google is changing from a search engine to an answer engine. Using keywords from websites to create knowledge panels means that users don’t have to go to your website anymore to get the answer they’re looking for. Mark encouraged businesses to label their data for search engines using Schema; a collaborative community designed to structure data on the internet.  After a knowledge filled morning, our speakers and audience then took a break from the conference. This enabled them to not only process what they’d learnt so far, but to meet some of Norfolk’s brightest tech companies in our specialist exhibition. Our exhibitors this year were:

• Breakwater IT
• Barclays Eagle Labs
• Rebecca Osborne
• Zing Insights
• Spicule
• Empresa Limited
• CSSCloud
• Bigfork
• Computer Service Centre
• 101 Smart Ltd
• Aston Shaw
• Data Crush
• Red Shed Media
• Charterhouse Voice & Data

  Once all of our delegates were refreshed the main conference resumed. Host Chris Sargisson welcomed them back into the auditorium by making sure they were all awake with a quick tech themed quiz. The second panel discussion was then introduced bringing together Paul Grenyer CEO of Naked Element Ltd, James Gulliver Managing Director of Netmatters, Claire Riseborough founder of Step into Tech and Nicky Lawlor co-founder of Cyberfen to discuss and debate the tech skills gap and gender imbalance. The panel addressed the need to bridge the gap between education to higher education and work by creating a community to support young people with the right connections and support. The panel discussion then moved onto the gender imbalance in the industry, something both Nicky and Claire feel very strongly about. Nicky said “the root of the problem is the image of the industry. Women hear cyber security and imagine hoodies hunched over a laptop and armoured vehicles. Women can do the job, but it’s bringing in women.” From this, Claire added “you just have to go into a toy shop to see the problem. The mechanical, engineering todays are in the blue boy’s aisle, and the girls is full of domestic games and dolls in the pink aisle.”  Continuing the theme of educating young people, our next speaker was Katherine Wood, CEO and co-founder of Phonics Hero. Katherine’s talk concentrated on how she took her offline company, online. Giving an insight into how Phonics Hero starts, Katherine urged businesses to “find your hacks”, try “freemium model” and to engage with your offline customers as much as online. Starting up users would pay a fee to use Phonics Hero, but when Katherine decided to make it free and market this online, it went viral seeing trail users grow from 50 to 3,500 in just 3 months. With this growth Katherine has been able to spend more time volunteering in schools being close to those who use Phonics Hero.  Welcomed on stage next was Callum Coombes, CEO of Safepoint speaking on the future of the workplace. Asking the audience whether they felt the future was Dystopian or Utopian, many had a negative dystopian view; something Callum was on a mission to change. Agreeing that while many jobs were at risk from technological innovations, Callum highlighted the need for more skilled workers, showing that whilst admin jobs may reduce by 20%, the need for healthcare staff would rise by 30%. He gave the audience some useful tips to make their current working lives more efficient, using tools such as QuickBooks, Google Docs and even Safepoint. These simple, time saving solutions allow businesses to give back to their employees through wellbeing.  Our final panel made their way to the stage ready to answer the audience’s questions on disrupting industries. Joining the panel was John Fagan, CTO of Axon Vibe, Arthur Soames, Business Development Manager of Hummingbird Technologies, Simon Coward, Managing Director of Hethel Innovation and Michelle Monck, Director Client Marketing Services at Xerox. The panel had great focus on the uses of AI in disrupting their industries including agri-tech, customer service, marketing, transport, engineering and many more.  Closing the event, Chris welcomes Fiona Lettice, Pro-Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Fiona’s talk ended the conference on a positive note, encouraging them to embrace how technology allows firms to do more with less. Agreeing that in the past many jobs have been affected by new technologies, but overall job creation has been greater than job loss. “I am a keen advocate of responsible research and innovation – I believe that we need to ensure that we develop these technologies including multidisciplinary and diverse perspectives to consider the future of work, privacy, ethics and society and ensure that science and technology works for society.”   The main conference came to a close with a feeling of positivity for the future of technology in the room. Throughout the event, we had live graphic recording artist Rebecca Osborne drawing the talks The close gave attendees to view to final drawings, which are available in our side gallery.  Attendees got to enjoy our exhibition over lunch, then had a choice of two workshops to finish the day: Preparing for Industry 4.0 with Stuart Easton, Transparent Choice or The Future of Your Digital Brand: Get Your Customer to make the Emotional Choice with Michael Stiff & Aaron Fickling, ALL is FLUX. Thank you to all who attending Talking Tech 2018. Norfolk Chamber were pleased to host over 180 businesses at the event, as well as our expert speakers, fantastic exhibitors and our sponsors. With thanks to Breakwater IT, Barclays Eagle Labs and Rebecca Osborne for sponsoring the event, and to Zing Insights who were our research partners, collected feedback to help us improve the event year on year.

Commenting on the ‘root and branch’ review of the railway network launched by government today, Jonathan Cage, President of Norfolk Chamber and Chair of their Transport & Infrastructure Group, said:

“After years of disruption and uncertainty, this review comes not before time. Given the role that the railways play in the daily lives of employees and businesses across Norfolk and many parts of the UK, the review must deliver tangible, visible improvements to the system for both businesses and commuters.

“The Norfolk business community is clear that the private sector has played, and must continue to play, a key role in running and improving the UK’s rail network. Yet the partnership between the private and public sector on the railways needs to change to alleviate the inexcusable delays and disruption faced by commuters and businesses under the current franchise system.

“Our region has been lucky enough to secure significant funding for rolling stock as part of the new franchise.  However it is imperative that this level of funding is more than matched by central government with respect to the upgrade of the network itself.  It is also essential that Network Rail is funded and managed correctly, if we are ever going to experience a quality rail service we can be proud of in this region.

“Travel delays increase business costs, jeopardise business opportunities and make Norfolk firms appear less accessible and therefore less competitive.  This review must tackle all the aspects of rail travel currently worrying businesses, including service reliability, pricing, ticket flexibility, innovation, investment, freight and value for money.

“The review should also look at what more needs to be done to increase connectivity on trains – so that commuters and businesses alike can make productive use of journey time.

“We need to develop a rail system where all parts of the network are working together and communicating better to improve confidence for users and investors. For Norfolk to be a thriving and modern economy, we must start with getting the basics right.”

Commenting on the inflation statistics for August 2018, published today by the Office for National Statistics, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Inflation surprisingly rose for the second successive month in August, largely wiping out the recent recovery in real wage growth and emphasising the continued squeeze on consumers.

“The strong growth in producer prices indicates that inflationary pressures further down the supply chain remain significant and could lift inflation higher in the coming months. However, the upward pressure on prices remains transitory, and inflation should resume its ease back towards target once the impact of the recent increase in oil prices drops out of the calculation.

“The possibility of a disorderly Brexit is the key risk to the UK’s outlook for inflation as it could result in a substantial decline in sterling, which could significantly increase inflation and exacerbate the financial squeeze on consumers and businesses.

“With UK economic conditions subdued, and little evidence that higher inflation is translating into materially stronger pay growth, the MPC has sufficient scope to opt for a prolonged period of monetary stability. Against a backdrop of significant political and economic uncertainty, more needs to be done to boost UK growth and productivity, including kick starting business investment, through tackling the high upfront cost of doing business in the UK.”