ADVERTISING FEATURE
MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES - BRITAIN’S UNSUNG HEROES?
The ambitious aim of our Growth Champions campaign is to help our often neglected medium- sized enterprises realise their full potential. After all, they’re the ones most likely to lead the UK’s economic recovery.
Spare a thought for our often unsung heroes of the UK economy, these, says Steve Clarke, Area Director, Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets, are the huge population of “almost invisible” medium-sized businesses (MSBs) that he regards as “the real engine-room of UK plc”.
These enterprises, turning over between £15m and £100m across all sectors, are the focus of the innovative Growth Champions campaign launched by Lloyds Bank in 2012 and aligned to ICAEW’s economia magazine’s Squeezed Middle initiative. Its ambitious aim is to help our MSBs realise their full potential because they’re identified as the companies most likely to lead the UK’s economic recovery.
“THE TRUTH IS THAT, DESPITE CURRENT ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEDIUM SIZED BUSINESSES TO TRADE INTERNATIONALLY ARE SO MUCH GREATER THAN THEY WERE TEN YEARS AGO.”
Steve Clarke, Area Director, Thames Valley and South
The Confederation of British Industry’s recent Future Champions analysis shows that, while MSBs represent less than 1% of firms, they account for as much as 22% of the country’s economic revenue and 16% of total employment. These companies, the report estimates, could generate an additional £50bn for the UK economy by 2020.
International Expertise, Local Networks
Steve Clarke’s team are determined to capitalise on their strong existing and expanding relationships to be a powerful voice for medium-sized businesses in this region. As the bank with historically one of the
largest domestic networks of 24 regional offices and its extensive network of leading banking partners in key overseas markets, Lloyds Bank considers itself uniquely placed to mobilise its comprehensive suite of funding and foreign trading support skills, as well as its expert market and economic intelligence to help local firms exploit opportunities at home and abroad.
“Proximity and seamless working with our credit teams is key to our support to MSBs – our credit teams are often based within the same offices and are fully mandated to make judgments at speed and on a foundation of sound local knowledge about the particular sectoral and regional challenges faced by our clients in the communities they serve.”
“Access to national and international expertise and insight is rapid and rewarding. And the truth is that, despite current economic challenges, the opportunities for medium sized businesses to trade internationally are so much greater today than they were ten years ago. Many MSBs are grasping those opportunities. Others, we’re fully aware, simply need some practical and strategic support to help them realise their potential.”
Spotlight on MSBs
“Part of the purpose of our Growth Champions campaign is unashamedly to talk up the successes that MSBs are already achieving. We want to help them realise just how good they really are and how much potential is out there beyond what they might now regard as their regular markets. It’s all about building confidence, up-skilling, and providing the solutions to help them achieve their ambitions and thrive.”
Relationships Count
“Our strength is our deep understanding of the businesses we support, so they benefit from financial solutions that suit their own circumstances – even if sometimes that’s not necessarily the best short-term fix for the bank,” says Steve, “Relationships are at the heart of our banking role as Trusted Adviser to our MSB customers. That’s what drives our business partnerships. That’s what we aspire to – a relationship where we’re the first and last person our customers turn to.”
To find out more about how we can help your business, please call Steve Clarke on 07920 207685 or to read further about Growth Champions –
www.lloydsbankwholesale.com/ Champions-for-Growth
Lloyds TSB Bank plc. Registered Office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales no. 2065. MM0184-0312
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