The Theatre’s Stage provides a wonderful photo backdrop.

PHOTO: Mike Wade

The grand Crush Hall is a perfect heritage room for ceremonies.

PHOTO: Mike Wade

28 October 2020 PRESS RELEASE

£1.9 million has been awarded to 52 companies across the Greater Birmingham area, including Solihull to help adapt their business models in response to the economic impact of Covid-19.  149 jobs have been created as a result of the Pivot and Prosper grant and a further 499 jobs have been safeguarded.

The Pivot and Prosper Grant Fund was launched by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) as part of the first phase of the Step Forward campaign – a series of schemes set up to help support businesses in key strategic sectors; Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Business Professional & Financial Services, Creative Industries, Energy & Low Carbon, Life Sciences and Food & Drink. Businesses have been awarded up to £40,000 match funding each. In Birmingham 25 businesses received the Pivot and Prosper grant, creating 53 jobs and safeguarding a further 162.

One of the organisations helped is Sutton Coldfield Town Hall. Although weddings have been held at the Edwardian venue since it was built in 1905, in recent years it had become slightly outdated for 21^st century weddings. Even though it is licensed to hold ceremonies, the charity venue had given priority to theatre shows at weekends, and so interested couples were often disappointed to not be able to get the dates they wanted. The upheaval to the entertainment programme from Covid has provided an opportunity for couples wanting to tie the knot in 2020/21.  GBSLEP granted £30,000 of the £40,000 project cost.

Julie Rennison, Managing Director of the Town Hall said “Our bid showed the main areas of spend will be IT/Digital, Decoration and Staffing. This includes streaming of weddings to guests at home, installing smart tills and digital signage plus smartening up of the décor. We’re trying to be green in our choices and use local companies and skills as much as possible. This heritage building always had great potential for weddings and now our modernised offer will make us much more competitive.”

Katie Trout, Director of GBSLEP said “Our economy has been severely impacted by Covid-19 and the GBSLEP has been determined to play its part in supporting businesses through these unprecedented times. We’ve worked closely with partners across the private, public and academic sectors to develop a suite of interventions to help organisations to respond to the challenges created by the pandemic and adapt their working practices, products and business models”.

“I am really pleased that 52 businesses will benefit from £1.9m of grants from our Pivot and Prosper programme. As a result, hundreds of jobs have been created and safeguarded across the LEP’s geography. The levels of innovation shown by the successful businesses have been hugely impressive. The exciting projects that this funding will enable are testament to the creativity and resilience of the individuals involved”.

‘This is an incredibly difficult time for businesses across the region and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure we can emerge from Covid-19 to secure inclusive economic growth together. We have more support on the way between now and the end of the year and I encourage businesses to take your step forward with us.’

For further information about the ongoing Step Forward Campaign go to www.yourstepforward.co.uk

For more information about support available to your business, go to www.gbslepgrowthhub.co.uk

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About the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP)

GBSLEP is a partnership of business, public sector and further and higher education. Its mission is to drive sustainable economic growth across the city-region, creating jobs and improving the quality of life for everyone.

The GBSLEP area spans nine local authority areas: Birmingham, Solihull, East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Tamworth, Redditch, Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest. It is home to over two million people, an estimated 1,038,000 jobs, and an economy worth £46.8bn.

Since 2010, the government has awarded GBSLEP £433 million to invest in a range of projects to grow the local economy. These include transport infrastructure, skills development, business support, innovation, and cultural and creative assets. GBSLEP is on course to secure more than £300 million of additional public and private investments, which will create a further 29,000 jobs and 7,000 new homes.

Since 2010, more than 162,000 new private sector jobs have been created across Greater Birmingham and Solihull. Last year, the area generated a 2.9% increase in economic growth – making it the fastest growing core city LEP in area in the country. More than 7,000 businesses have been supported by the GBSLEP Growth Hub in the past two years.

For more information about GBSLEP, please visit the website, sign up to the newsletter.

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