Business

Support and advice available for businesses and voluntary sector organisations, including contacts for business rates

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to supporting local businesses and attracting investment to the county. 

Gloucestershire First has established its own Economic Task Force to address the impact of the 'recession' on the economy of the county and ensure Gloucestershire receives the all the support it needs through the recession and to position itself for a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, partnership members will be working hard to support local businesses by encouraging residents to buy goods locally, encouraging large companies to pay smaller companies quickly and by asking banks to release the tight grip that has been placed on credit for small companies.

• Business information and support
• Business Rates
• Debt advice
• Small businesses and self-employed
• Charities
• Funding
• Research and training

Business information and support

• Business Link provides information, advice and support for starting, running and growing businesses with up to 250 employees as well as tools and guides to help businesses during the economic slowdown.  Call 0845 600 9966.
• Business Link have recently set up Real Help For Businesses Now - an easy to use 'one stop shop' web portal  to help your business identify support available, ranging from business health checks, to managing cash flow and alternatives to redundancy.  Visit their website or call your local Business Link Adviser on 0845 600 9966.
• Gloucestershire First is the countywide economic partnership established to develop and support the economic well-being of the county. Any business who are considering making redundancies or anticipate possible closure should be immediately referred to the Investment Team on 01242 864195 / 864191 for help and advice.  

Business Rates

• Business Link provide pages explaining who pays business rates, how rates are calculated, how to pay them, and what to do if you think your rateable value is incorrect. 
• Contact your local district council if you want to find out more about your business rates, including any questions about business rate relief available for many small businesses:
• Business rates in the Cheltenham Borough Council area. Helpline:  01242 264 255
• Business rates in the Cotswold District Council area. Helpline:  01285 623 034
• Business rates in the Forest of Dean District Council area. Helpline:  01594 812 579
• Business rates in the Gloucester City Council area. Helpline:  01452 396 478
• Business rates in the Stroud District Council area. Helpline:  01453 754 865
• Business rates in the Tewkesbury Borough Council area. Helpline:  01684 272 034

Debt advice

• Business Debtline offers a helpline that provides businesses with free, confidential and independent advice on how to deal with debt problems. Call 0800 197 6026.
• Gloucestershire Development Loan Fund is often able to lend money to businesses and social enterprises in Gloucestershire when they are unable to obtain finance through mainstream lenders. Contact  01242 242555.

Small businesses and self-employed

• Federation of Small Businesses protecting, promotes, and furthers the interests of the self-employed and small business sector. Call 01253 336 000.  They also offer a free FSB Finance Helpline available on 08000 193 633. 
• Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services provides support for businesses with less than 10 employees. Call 01242 864200 for details. 
• The Social Enterprise Centre, based in Stroud, can help you if you are starting or running a social enterprise (a business with primarily social objectives who's surpluses are reinvested in the business or community).  Call 01453 762 271.

Charities and voluntary sector

• The new VCS Small Grant Recession Scheme is offering voluntary and community organisations grants of £500 to £5,000 and is open for applications until 10am on Wednesday 11^th November 2009.  Find out more about the criterial and the application on our website or call Jayne West on 01452 426132.
• Charities Aid Foundation offers confidential advice for charities who are concerned about their finances and offer a downloadable financial help sheet.  Call 0800 980 2000.
• Gloucestershire Association for Voluntary and Community Action (GAVCA) supports and represents local voluntary and community groups countywide.  Call 01452 332424 (Gloucester) or 01242 227737 (Cheltenham).
• Funding opportunities are listed on our Funding available for organisations  web pages.

Funding

• GRANTnet is a free web based grant search facility  - this database provides information on over 4,000 funding programmes. With easy to use software, business and voluntary sector users can search for funding opportunities according to specific criteria (work theme, budget etc.). 
• See also Business Rates above.
• More funding sources are listed on our Funding available for organisations  web pages.

Research and training

• Financial Services Authority allows employers to invite FSA into the workplace to provide employees with financial education and advice, through free tools (including seminars or CD ROMs).
• Libraries Business Information Service offers information including market research and statistics, company reports, mailing lists. Call 0845 230 5421.  Library members can also access British Standards and COBRA (Complete Business Reference Advisor) business information for free through these pages. 
• Gloucester Works is open to employers in and around Gloucester City offering support with training, recruitment or if you are facing redundancies.  For more information call 01452 450067 or e-mail info@gloucesterworks.co.uk.
• Train To Gain offers a wide range of business and skills support and can provide access to funding based on your organisation's needs as identified through consultation with a skills broker. For further information follow the link or call 08456 047 047.
• Parklife is an exciting and unique service designed to link together Gloucestershire companies in the same geographical area, on business parks, industrial estates or in the same vicinity, to take advantage of networking, skills development, staff recruitment and business advice on your doorstep. Call 01452 450 068 (Gloucester area) or 01452 450 030 (Cheltenham, Cirencester, Forest of Dean, Tewkesbury & Stonehouse areas).
• Apprenticeships are open to all age groups above 16 years, whether you are just leaving school, have been working for years or are seeking to start a new career.  They allow you to start work and earn a decent wage, while learning new skills that will lead to nationally recognised qualifications. 

If you know of any other contacts that may be useful to list on these pages, please email marketing@gloucestershire.gov.uk.