Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Business Advantage Awards applications now open
For the second year, the Business Advantage Awards will offer a support package of mentoring and/or legal support worth £25,000 to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Five awards will be presented and at least two of these will be allocated to our students or graduates (within five years of graduation). The awards are also open to business clients of our University’s Enterprise and Innovation Hub. Each award provides up to 50 hours of mentoring and/or legal support; and the support given through each one is worth up to £5,000.
The support package includes one-to-one enterprise mentoring from a solicitor with expertise in a relevant field such as IP protection, employment terms, premises legal support, business structure and taxation advice; as well as valuable industry introductions and specialist expertise.
To apply, applicants are asked to submit a brief business plan to the Enterprise and Innovation Hub by the deadline of Tuesday 9 February 2016. Shortlisted applicants will then be asked to give a 10 minute presentation on their business to a panel on the 24 February 2016.
After the awards have been presented, support will commence for a period of 12 months from March 2016.
For more information, and to download our business plan template, please visit the Enterprise and Innovation Hub website. Applications, and any queries, should be emailed to eiahub@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.
Speaking at an event held to celebrate the winners of the 2015 Business Advantage Awards, Simon Baldwin, Head of Enterprise at our University said: “As a University we have a transformative role to play within the Leeds City Region: not only in developing skills needed within the workforce but also in supporting business creation and growth, helping to develop new jobs within the region.”
At the event, award winners updated our University and Lupton Fawcett Denison Till on the progress of their business a year on from receiving the award.
Enterprise and Innovations Hub clients, Claire Shepherd and Karl Lenton, run Safe Innovations, a company that supports organisations in the health, prison and social care sectors to develop strategies and improve services in custody. Claire and Karl have also recently launched seedS: a mobile treatment unit that can be used to deliver care in secure settings in HMP Leeds.
Speaking about the awards, Claire said: “We are really pleased to have Lupton Fawcett Denison Till’s support. Getting the right legal advice has been vital to keeping the business on track.”
Award winners, Martin Woods and Reza Moaiandin, run SALT.agency, a company specialising in the field of technical development and organic search marketing. SALT.agency have helped to build several Leeds SEO agencies from humble beginnings and have recently expanded their consultancy team to keep up with demand. SALT.agency were recipients of the Lupton Fawcett Business Advantage Award.
Martin said of the award: “Receiving this support was fundamental for our success long term, and certainly not something which we would have been in a position to consider normally. We are extremely grateful to both Lupton Fawcett Denison Till, and Leeds Beckett University.”
Richard Marshall, Managing Director at Lupton Fawcett Denison Till, commented: “We are delighted to confirm that we will continue the awards in partnership with Leeds Beckett University next year. We heard today from two innovative businesses who received the award previously, one of which is also making significant social impact, and both will go on to create new jobs within our region over the coming months."
The Enterprise and Innovation Hub offers a range of affordable office services for start-up and growing businesses, as well as access to a thriving business community and wider University services. It is currently home to 200 businesses across Leeds and Headingley.