Funding boost for ambitious accountancy firm
Accountancy firm Business Works UK is set for growth following investment in the company by Finance Yorkshire.
The Leeds-based business provides a range of services to SMEs, predominantly across the north – providing services from book-keeping and accountancy to strategic business advice and support.
Business Works owner and entrepreneur Jo Tomlinson plans to use the £20,000 Business Loan from Finance Yorkshire to develop and market the company’s services to a wider SME audience.
She is particularly keen to develop an auto enrolment service, supporting SMEs who face having to automatically enrol staff in a workplace pension scheme. The funding from Finance Yorkshire has already enabled Jo to employ another team member who joins the Business Works family at its offices in Garforth.
Jo launched Business Works in December 2008 and in the last 18 months has doubled the size of the company. Clients include small owner-managed companies to businesses employing 100 staff with turnovers approaching £3 million.
Services include everything from tax returns through to running payrolls, advising on legal and compliance issues, business and tax advice, business valuations, benchmarking and funding applications.
Jo said: “I’ve more than 20 years’ experience in commercial roles in blue chip companies which I can now bring to the SME community. As I like a challenge, I decided to go it alone. In the early days I did a lot of contract work whilst steadily growing my own clients to where we are today.”
Jo added: “Finance Yorkshire offers much more than many funding providers – they also provide guidance and support and I particularly like the way they challenge you, helping to ensure your business strategy works in the marketplace.”
Finance Yorkshire Investment Manager Ian Atkinson said: “Jo is an inspirational entrepreneur with a positive attitude to expanding her business. Our backing will help Business Works deliver its marketing strategy, namely developing its products and attracting new clients.”
Business Works was advised in the Finance Yorkshire funding deal by Gareth Allen of Red Sky Business Funding.
Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.
To date Finance Yorkshire has made 555 investments totalling over £69 million.
The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15million from UK Government and £45million match funding from the European Investment Bank.
For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or call 0845 649 0000.
Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire