Pera helps emda to provide a new opportunity for aspiring high growth businesses in the East Midlands

Pera, in partnership with Grant Thornton and Nottingham University Business School, has won the contract to deliver the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) Coaching for High Growth programme. Over a 3 year period 160 potential high growth businesses from across the East Midlands will take part in this new support programme.

Funded by emda and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Coaching for High Growth is part of Government’s Solutions for Business portfolio, a suite of highly targeted, publicly funded products and services offering solutions to real business needs.

Coaching for High Growth provides participating businesses with an intensive and bespoke package of support over a 12 month period, to help them unlock their high growth potential.

Demand for places on Coaching for High Growth is already high but there are still places left, so businesses with ambitious growth plans for 2010 and beyond are encouraged to apply early as soon as possible.

The support provided to each company is based around one to one coaching, with the programme carefully matching the needs of each business with a specialist and knowledgeable growth coach, who will then work with the business to identify barriers to growth and put in place a clear growth strategy.

Alongside the coaching, each business has access to a programme of master classes, which provide further support to help the business and senior managers to prepare their business for growth using the latest tools and techniques.

The support offered will help businesses to:

• Put in place a clear vision and growth strategy
• Ensure the management structure and processes are right to facilitate sustainable high growth
• Increase sales and new routes to market
• Develop their competitive edge.

In total, the support is worth at least £20,000 to each business and participating businesses are required to provide just £2,000 to contribute towards the costs.

The support offered by Coaching for High Growth is client led, with the coach working with each business based around their own needs and priorities. Previous participants in emda’s high growth programmes have reported that the support has had an overall positive influence on long term growth prospects, resulted in new business opportunities, increased teamwork and had a major impact on bottom line performance.

To be eligible, businesses must have fewer than 250 employees, turnover between £500,000 and £40 million in their last financial year, and the potential to increase sales by 20% per annum per year for the next three years.

Coaching for High Growth builds on emda’s successful High Growth East Midlands programme, also delivered by Pera, which has supported nearly 170 businesses since it was launched in early 2008. Over 1,000 jobs have been created or safeguarded and collectively businesses on the programme are forecast to increase their Gross Value Added (GVA) by £60 million.

For further details on Coaching for High Growth go to www.emda.org.uk/coaching or call 0845 644 6963. The online application form is straightforward and can be completed in no more than 15 minutes.