How can regional investment help local businesses survive through tough tier systems?

The recent announcement of the new tier system has left many local businesses with a feeling of uncertainty and unease, not knowing how their businesses are going to the new harsh restrictions that are in place for many regions throughout the country. With almost half of Britain now in tier 3, many local small businesses face closure and are now more than ever in need of investment from local high net worth investors in order to help those businesses recover and enable future growth.

Over the course of the year, regional businesses have felt the true impact of the pandemic and the effects of the restrictions put in place. In light of the new tiered system, many local businesses across the UK, and especially in the north, are going to struggle and may not even make it into the new year due to simply not having the capital to recover from such losses. Investment into these regions and an influx of private capital towards local businesses has become imperative in helping these businesses survive during the difficult winter ahead.

Unfortunately, much of the north of England and areas outside of London do not receive enough attention investment wise and the tiered system is likely to make that worse. There are an array of great investment opportunities outside of London, such as Rockwater in Hove, which has raised a significant amount of its investment from the local community. Furthermore, this highlights the need for investors to now look to local investment to support the wider economy through the tough times.

CEO of IW Capital, Luke Davis:

“Investment into local SMEs is proving fundamental in helping them weather the storm and survive the new tiered system that many are not sure to recover from. We all need to rally behind our local businesses, especially those in the tier 3 regions in order for them to make it through to next year.

“Throughout the year, the regional firms have been hardest hit and with the new tiered system in place, things are looking to get worse. Local small businesses play an integral part in our economy and require additional investment and support to help then during these tough times.

“Most of the areas within tier 3 are those who receive little investment attention. Investors need to start looking outside of London and into the north where there are a number of great investment opportunities. Here at IW, we are doing just that with Rockwater in Hove where we have raised a significant amount of investment from the local community.

“Making growth investment more easily available to small businesses that are looking to grow should be a priority. The last time that the Government-backed EIS was extended, it resulted in a significant jump in private investment into small businesses. Replicating this effect with new, or increased, incentives would provide a much needed boost to a section of the economy that is most in need, and so we hope this will be addressed in the near future.”