“Financing
recovery....funding innovation and investment” is the focus of a major
conference organised by Business Voice WM, Forrest Research, Aston Business
School, Birmingham Business School and the Fair Finance Consortium.
It
takes place on Thursday, October 29th at Aston Business School and
will feature a heavyweight list of national politicians, senior academics,
commercial banks, venture capitalists, and leading economists.
Representatives
from both the Government and Opposition will present their policy frameworks to
fund the recovery and secure finance for expansion at the all-day event. The conference, which will be free to attend,
will attempt to identify the actions needed to get liquidity flowing again for
regional businesses. Around 200 corporates
will attend. It is part of the
continuing campaign by BVWM to mitigate the impact of the recession.
The
West Midlands economy, equivalent to £92 billion and contributing close to 8%
of total UK output, has been the most badly affected UK region, with one in
five of 16-25 year olds out of work. This is in part due to the fact that in the
region of 60% of Gross Regional Product (GRP) is estimated to originate from
the private, largely SME, sector.
The
impact of downturn has been exacerbated by the preponderance of the property,
manufacturing and retail sectors in the regional economic structure
(cumulatively over 50% of GRP) which have all been particularly hard hit. Although, the latest West Midlands Purchasing Managers
Index (next release: October 12th) is expected to register some improvement in
manufacturing output, the recovery remains fragile.
The
recession has also directly impacted on the ceramics sector and the economy of
north Staffordshire. There have been changes in ownership such as at Waterford
Wedgwood and Spode/Royal. The number of people employed in the brick industry
is at an historic low. At the start of 2009, 90 per cent of brick factories
were temporarily closed or on short time working. It is anticipated that brick
sales in 2009 will be only 60 per cent of those in 2008. In terms of the property and construction
sector there has also been a steep decline in activity. Total workloads and new
enquiries have slipped with profit margins under heavy pressure.
The
Advantage West Midlands sponsored Advantage Transition Fund has proved vital in
helping keep SMEs afloat, and replicates similar successful initiatives
elsewhere in the UK and the wider EU.
Whitehall plans to phase out regional transition loan funds will
seriously disadvantage the West Midlands and the robustness of the economic
recovery.
Rob Dobson, Senior
Economist at Markit
said:
“The West
Midlands Purchasing Managers Index showed that the region was one of the
hardest hit during this downturn. As the cycle enters its recovery phase,
managing the upturn in the region will be just as important as the
reaction to the downturn. This timely conference will play an important role in
understanding the unique circumstances the West Midlands faces and identifying
appropriate responses as the recession turns to recovery.”
Forrest
Research Director, Paul Forrest
said:
“The
global economic downturn has impacted differentially on international
economies, and the varied regional responses within the EU potentially put the
West Midlands at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, the structure of this downturn is markedly different from
previous UK recessions, and new policy initiatives will be essential if the
West Midlands is to maintain its position as a top 20 European economy and
sustain international competitiveness.”
Conservative
Shadow Minister for International Trade and Development Geoffrey Clifton-Brown,
MP, recognises that:
“99%
of businesses in the UK are SMEs and they will be the engine room of our
economic recovery. To run smoothly however this engine needs the fuel of
capital and credit. From cutting corporate tax and payroll tax for small
firms to freeing businesses from the shackles of regulation and rethinking the
way we support our exporters I will talk of how the Conservatives will help
British Businesses lead the way to recovery.”
Senior Liberal Democrat MP, John Hemming, said
“As one of the more dynamic and innovative regional economies, the
real issue is not how the West Midlands can expand, but how to facilitate that
expansion thorough the provision of adequate working capital, sufficient
investment funding and a policy framework that stimulates, rather than
constrains, manufacturing output. Although the impact of the recent economic
contraction has been global, successful responses have been regional and local.”
Professor Andy Mullineux, Global Financial Research Group,
Birmingham Business School, stated:
“We are at a crossroads.
Bank lending will be more restricted and more expensive in future as a
result of re-regulation. How can a
sustained recovery be financed? This
timely conference aims to provide some answers with the help of all its participants.”
Dr
Ben Clegg, Aston Business School,
highlights the opportunities for support from regional business schools:
“EREBUS
is a government funded initiative intending to catalyse academia and industry
into solving challenging business problems. One of its priority areas is
finance. If you are in the world of finance and have a challenging problem,
please contact the EREBUS team, as we could fund your research!”
While
Paul
Kalinauckas, The Fair Finance Consortium and Business Voice WM Board Member said:
“As
companies are experiencing an upturn the need to obtain finance for new orders
becomes more acute. Insufficient cash flow to re-stock means going to the bank
for a loan but if they have not yet regained their appetite for lending and
still consider loans to SME’s as too risky, they can turn to Fair Finance
Consortium members for help”
Other
Speakers include; Professor Edward Peck, Birmingham University; Professor
Michael West, Aston Business School; Arun Dhunna, Abbey; the Royal Bank of
Scotland’s Peter Ibbetson; businessman Mohammad Nazir – who is also the
Business Voice WM lead on Islamic finance; Norman Price, West Midlands Finance
Forum and Dr Pam Waddell of Birmingham Science City.
Topics
include economic trends, business sentiment, credit, bank lending, finance for
SMEs, and risk capital.
To register for this free conference
please contact Business Voice WM on 0121 245 0140 or email on
info@businessvoicewm.org.uk
Download the event flyer for more information >
