AN ENTREPRENEUR who launched one of Bromsgrove’s many successful business start-ups last year said he thought the increase in new firms was partly due to Brexit.
Reedmace Solutions director Dan Corcoran started his firm in January 2019 and it has gone from strength-to-strength.
He said: “As a direct result of Brexit discussions, there have been large amounts of redundancies in the general economy and a lesser number of available jobs, which has led to an increase in the number of start-ups over the past 12 months or so.”
He said it was a tricky time to start up, particularly a B2B (businesses which provide services to other firms to help them grow).
“Serving big companies which tend to ask for long payment terms can be extremely detrimental to a small business’ cash-flow, as well as for those start-ups relying on international trading which are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates and uncertainty in the economy.
“But, now the Brexit decision has been officially announced, we are already seeing an increase in confidence with jobs being created at tech start-ups which we believe will lead to a less cautious and more prosperous year ahead.”
Bromsgrove has been labelled the ‘start-up hub’ in the UK after experiencing a 52.5 per cent increase in the number of businesses launching in 2019.
There were 5,522 new firms created in the district last year – more than some big cities, such as Liverpool and Leicester.
Mr Corcoran said growing a business quickly without financial support was tough and part of the funding he had came from Enterprising Worcestershire – a Worcestershire County Council programme part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
The cash helped the company invest in its future but questions will be asked about what happens when Britain leaves the EU?
Mr Corcoran said: “The Government has continued with a number of schemes to stimulate business growth at the early stages, including funding and tax reliefs for investment in tech start-ups.
“There are also a number of schemes and funding opportunities run by local councils which start-ups might not be aware of.”
Mr Corcoran is now working with Worcestershire County Council and Enterprising Worcestershire to highlight the help and funding available to those thinking of starting their own business.
“I am keen to bring together the new and emerging Bromsgrove business community to share the lessons behind our success and help Bromsgrove to thrive.”
Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid said: ““As Chancellor, I want to level-up opportunity right across the UK.
“That’s why I’m committed to creating the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will invest in UK priorities and tackle inequalities between communities by raising productivity.
This Fund will, at a minimum, match the size of European Structural Funds in each nation.
“This will ensure that bureaucratic, ineffective EU Structural Funds – designed to deliver EU priorities not UK ones – are replaced with an approach that’s better tailored to our economy, and will be better able to address the individual barriers people face, regardless of where they live in the UK.”
