HALL & ANGUS WORKPLACE AND SCHOOL PROGRAMMES WIN SMALL LOAN FUND INVESTMENT BACKING

A North East substance and alcohol misuse management company is set to roll out new education programmes for workplaces and schools with the help of a five-figure investment from the North East Small Loan Fund Supported By The European Regional Development Fund.

Hall & Angus provides bespoke training and advice which helps management teams understand the nature and breadth of any issues in their workplaces and identify ways in which to help them and their employees tackle them.

The £30,000 investment, secured through regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers, will enable the Sunderland-based firm to bring its new Workplace Culture Map to market, as well as to launch a new substance misuse education programme for teachers, pupils and families.

It will also support the recruitment and training of up to four new consultants who will be required to deliver the programmes to clients across a wide range of different industries.

The Workplace Culture Map offers a detailed electronic assessment of a business’s operations across nine different areas, and uses input from staff and management to assess whether budgets are being allocated in the right areas and are having the desired impact.

Analysis of the programme data that it gathers anonymously helps to identify any priority areas for action, enables employers to both accentuate the positives in their workplaces as well as tackle the negatives, enhance the positives and gives employees a greater sense of involvement in how their environment is shaped and managed.

The schools programme, which has already been successfully trialled within the North East, uses a card-based approach to help participants learn about a wide range of drug-related issues, including the potential health and legal consequences of their use, and also aims to challenge long-held myths which could pose dangers to young people.

Hall & Angus has recently moved to larger premises within the Evolve Centre in Sunderland to ensure it has the space it expects to need as it grows, and is also currently developing a range of online training packages which will extend the range of services it can provide.

Business growth consultancy IA Growth advised Hall & Angus during the investment application process.

Trevor Hall, who set up the company with business partner Gordon Angus in 2016, says: “Our work aims to give owner/managers the accurate information they need to identify what they’re doing well, what they could be doing better and what they need to think about addressing for the future.

“If they are unaware or not fully aware of any issues within their workplace and the impact they’re having, it’s pretty much impossible for them to start tackling them.

“The workplace culture map covers policies, procedures and actions in areas including health and safety, substance & alcohol misuse, health and well-being, the impact of prescribed medications in the workplace, criminality and whistleblowing, and provides a detailed overview of the results that are being generated by the resources directed toward them.

“Involving employees and giving them the chance to express the facts about how well things work or otherwise ensures they feel fully invested in the process, know their concerns are being taken seriously and can see how their contributions result in beneficial actions for all.

“Our schools programme was extremely well received by teachers, pupils and parents during our trials, and we think there will be a real appetite for this sort of factual, unbiased explanation of the issues surrounding substance misuse and its potential consequences.

“The investment application process was uncomplicated and accessible, and gaining access to this capital will make a big difference to the pace at which we can roll out these new programmes and grow the business.”

Part of the £120m North East Fund is aimed predominantly at smaller SMEs, the £9m North East Small Loan Fund typically offers loans of between £10,000 and £50,000 to businesses in Tyne & Wear, Durham and Northumberland.

It is designed to assist with the creation of over 1,200 new regional jobs in more than 320 SMEs over the life of the fund.

Jane Siddle, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “Hall & Angus has a strong track record of finding solutions to live workplace issues, and our investment will help them further extend the use that can be made of their knowledge and experience.”

The overarching North East Fund will provide financial support for more than 600 businesses, creating around 3,500 jobs and delivering a legacy of up to £80m for further investment into the region.

NEL is also responsible for investing the £18m North East Growth Capital Fund, which offers unsecured investments of up to £500,000 to established businesses looking to realise their growth potential.

For more information about NEL’s investment criteria, visit www.nel.co.uk or contact the investment team on 0345 369 7007.

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For further information, please contact Julian Christopher at Footprint Public Relations on 07891 005034 or via julianchristopher@btinternet.com

Notes To Editors

About NEL Fund Managers

NEL Fund Managers Limited is North East England’s most active business investor, providing financial products to small and medium-sized businesses right across the region, and is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.

About The North East Fund

The North East Fund is a suite of five venture capital and loan funds which was established in April 2018, to invest £120m in around 600 North East businesses in the period to March 2023.  The fund managers provide business development advice and investment finance to small and medium sized enterprises based in the seven Local Authority areas of North East England: Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle, South Tyneside, Gateshead Sunderland and County Durham.  The programme encourages investment in and the commercialisation of new technologies, including low carbon technologies, as well as stimulating new business creation, private investment and entrepreneurialism in the North East, with a view to creating over 2,500 new jobs.  The North East Fund has overall responsibility for the programme, which is delivered through five separate funds, each managed by independent, FCA regulated fund managers.  Details of these, and up to date information on the progress of the programme, is available on The North East Fund’s website: www.northeastfund.org

The North East Fund has been established with funding from the North East of England European Regional Development Fund programme, the European Investment Bank and from returns on previous North East based, publicly supported investment funds.  It is jointly owned by the seven North East local authorities

About the European Regional Development Fund

The North East Fund will receive up to £58,500,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.  The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund.  Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.

About the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will lend up to £60,000,000 to the North East Fund programme.  The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.  For more information, visit: http://www.eib.org/about/index.htm