Franchise Focus Business News…

In line with the government promise made in the 2006 Budget, the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform have today announced the rearrangement of government funding and support for business start up, growth and redevelopment. The previous 3,000 grant schemes and publicly funded business services and support schemes have now been reduced to a more easy to manage number, starting with 30, with 9 more schemes joining today and two more in April. The schemes can be viewed at the new Business Solutions site and are easily accessed via the Business Link website.

This is the first time that all government business grants and support schemes have been collected under the one banner at the Business Link site, and is a great step towards the provision of accessible advice for budding entrepreneurs. Commenting on the launch of this redevelopment, John Wright, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Business welcomed the change, saying “Small businesses do not want to be swamped by a range of different schemes and proposals that take too long to understand, let alone take advantage of. The FSB welcomes this streamlined set of solutions for business which, we hope, will make it more straightforward for small firms to get the help they need to get started, grow and expand.”

The site provides detail for a variety of schemes including business start up loans, training schemes, business development grants. The site also provides a variety of additional advice services for business owners in a variety of areas such as tax, health and safety, and environment advice. So, if you are considering investing in a business opportunity then you should explore Business Solution’s website to see what kind of government support you can apply for.