Extension of Recovery Loan Scheme

At the Autumn Budget 2021 the Chancellor announced that the Recovery Loan Scheme will be extended by six months to 30 June 2022.

Launched in April the scheme provides financial support to businesses across the UK as they recover and grow following the coronavirus pandemic.

You can apply to the scheme if Covid-19 has affected your business. You can use the finance for any legitimate business purpose – including managing cashflow, investment and growth. However, you must be able to afford to take out additional debt finance for these purposes.

From 1 January 2022, the following changes will come into force:

  • The scheme will only be open to small and medium sized enterprises (turnover <£45m)
  • The maximum amount of finance available will be £2 million per business (maximum amount per Group limited to £6m)
  • The guarantee coverage that the government will provide to lenders will be reduced to 70%

Different lenders will have different lead times for processing applications, and it may not be the case that applications made before 31 December will be subject to the current terms. Applicants should check with their preferred lender

For more information visit the website: Recovery Loan Scheme – British Business Bank (british-business-bank.co.uk)

November 11, 2021 Business Comments Off on Extension of Recovery Loan Scheme

NEW Alert Level System In Place

NEW Alert Level System In Place

As part of the continuous review cycle we have decided to adopt a new approach to Covid19 and we will be implementing this with effect from Monday 18th October 2021. From this date we will operate on two alert levels: Medium and High, to ensure that processes are simple and easy to follow. These are briefly described below and comparisons can be seen in the table. Full details of the approach / levels can be found in the guidance HERE. Please ensure you circulate this to your staff on site so they are aware of the impact when the alert level changes.

October 12, 2021 EIC, General Comments Off on NEW Alert Level System In Place

A warm welcome to Spotless AI Limited

A warm welcome to Spotless AI Limited, manufacturers of innovative consumer electronics who are developing a prototype autonomous cleaning robot

The company has recently relocated to the E-Innovation Centre at the University of Wolverhampton’s Priorslee Innovation Campus in Telford to develop and commercialise their product.

Experts from the SOLVD team at the University of Wolverhampton supports Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the adoption of digital technologies to improve productivity and profit has collaborated with Spotless AI to further develop the product towards commercialisation

Through an initial 12 hours of support, SOLVD experts in AI, 5G wireless communication, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cyber security have helped the company review their technology roadmap and strategy development and provided advice on control mechanisms and connectivity

You can find out more about the SOLVD team and how they could help your business at https://www.wlv.ac.uk/business-services/funding-and-support/solvd/

The case study for Spotless AI Limited can be read here

September 28, 2021 Business, EIC, IT Comments Off on A warm welcome to Spotless AI Limited

Congratulations to Telford Campus Tenants – Scanning Pens


Star-Studded Celebration for Queen’s Award Winners Scanning Pens

 

UK EdTech company Scanning Pens was presented with a Queen’s Award for Business by Mrs. Anna Turner JP, the Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire at a dedicated ceremony held at Hoar Cross Hall earlier this month.

 

The accolade celebrates Scanning Pens’ outstanding success in the field of international trade, and was awarded to CEO Jack S. Churchill and COO Toby Sutton in the presence of their families and co-workers, as well as the High Sheriff of Shropshire, representatives from the Department for International Trade, and members of the local government.

 

Created in 2003, Scanning Pens is a dedicated EdTech company supplying text-to-speech devices to people with dyslexia, as well as raising awareness of dyslexia worldwide and supporting people whose daily lives are impacted by literacy differences. Scanning Pens devices represent a huge quality-of-life change for neurodiverse people, and work by allowing users to scan through and listen to texts via an audio feedback system. Removing the need for in-person readers and modified texts, they make reading an independent act, and help people who struggle with reading able to engage with texts in the same way that a neurotypical person might.

 

CEO Jack S. Churchill said, “We are over the moon to have received the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. As a team we’re over the moon to have our work recognised in this way. Our company came together last week for the first time in 2 years to receive the award and celebrate. This award encourages us to redouble our efforts to support more people to overcome their struggles with weak literacy.”

 

As a multinational business, Scanning Pens has dedicated the past eighteen months to exploring what new opportunities they can offer to people with dyslexia and literacy differences during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as continuing to support the markets that rely on their award-winning text-to-speech technology. The last three years has seen a significant increase in the company’s overseas markets growing from one UK office and 10 UK staff, to two UK offices, and one office each in USA, Australia, Canada, and India with more than 80 staff around the world.

 

The event at Hoar Cross Hall was attended by a number of accessibility and EdTech industry champions, with representatives from Landau, Phonic Books, The Shannon Trust, Novus, Nasen and the Shropshire Dyslexia Association. After a series of short addresses by business management and the Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, the company toasted their business successes with a long-awaited celebration in the luxurious surroundings of the Hoar Cross Hall Spa Hotel.

September 22, 2021 Business, IT Comments Off on Congratulations to Telford Campus Tenants – Scanning Pens
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