Business Durham sponsored the Small/Medium Company of the Year category at this month’s County Durham Together Awards. Managing Director Sarah Slaven explains to PETER BARRON why it was ‘the perfect fit’

COVID-19 was at its height and Sarah Slaven vividly remembers the call that underlined the importance of the work being carried out to support County Durham businesses through the pandemic.

As the business support service for Durham County Council, Business Durham had been given the additional task of managing the distribution of the Durham Business Recovery Grant to businesses affected by the biggest public health crisis in living memory.

One of the first businesses to successfully apply for the lifeline – a manufacturing company in the north of the county – had got in touch to simply say: “We can’t thank you enough”. The emergency cash injection had enabled the firm to buy a piece of equipment that helped it to diversify and had already led to a new order being secured.

“It really brought it home to us how crucial it was to be providing that support at that time,” recalls Sarah, who took over as managing director of Business Durham in January 2020, just ahead of the pandemic causing unprecedented economic turmoil around the world.

“After that early example, there were lots more messages from small and medium-sized businesses that had benefited in similar ways, and it meant so much.”

A total of 786 applications were received for the Durham Business Recovery Grant between January and the end of April this year, and 343 County Durham businesses have been supported, with over £5.1m being given out in grants across a range of sectors.

To be successful, businesses had to demonstrate two things: how they had been impacted by the pandemic; and that they had a credible plan to adapt to the challenge.

Sarah describes the Durham Business Recovery Grant scheme as “the most flexible product we’ve ever had” but, even if companies didn’t fit the criteria, they were directed to other support programmes that were more suitable to their needs.

The experience of working through the pandemic left Sarah and her team with an overwhelmingly positive impression of the resilience and creativity of SMEs right across the county. And that was a big factor in Business Durham’s decision to sponsor the Small/Medium Company of the Year category at The Northern Echo’s County Durham Together Awards this month.

“The team was really heartened by how many businesses were coming to us with plans for moving forward beyond the pandemic,” she says.

“With the financial support through the Durham Business Recovery Grant, they were demonstrating that they could diversify, move into new markets, and do something new. They could see different opportunities to provide their products and services in a different way, so it was a question of us helping businesses that already had a plan to help themselves.

“We wanted to reflect that spirit by sponsoring this category in the awards because SMEs are so important to our economy. They are embedded in their local areas, and they want to be sustainable into the future, so the award was a perfect fit for us.”

Business Durham is widely acknowledged as a trusted guide that connects businesses with the right funding, advice, and the networks they need to thrive and grow.

As well as the Durham Business Recovery Grant, the organisation was already delivering a range of other support programmes. It works with partners to encourage an enterprise culture, helping entrepreneurs to turn bright ideas into successful reality, and students to develop enterprise skills to become future business leaders.

Business Durham also manages a portfolio of business properties, finding the right space for businesses to prosper – from commercial offices, modern laboratories, to industrial units. The team attracts capital and inward investment to the county, delivering an innovative economy that enables companies to start-up, grow and flourish.

“Dealing with the massive number of applications for the Durham Business Recovery Grant came on top of maintaining all the existing support programmes, and I could not be prouder of the way the team rose to the challenge,” says Sarah.

She describes it as a “genuine team effort”, working alongside other county council departments. “Businesses were able to apply online, so our digital team designed the online applications system very quickly, while Visit County Durham and the Council’s Funding and Programmes Team helped out with the assessments. It was all hands on deck, with everyone pulling together.”

Sarah says her two biggest sources of pride over the past year have been the success of the Durham Business Recovery Grant, and securing investment for phase three of the North East Technology Park (NETPark) at Sedgefield.

NETPark, opened in 2004, has grown into a collaborative community of science, engineering, and technology businesses. It is home to more than 40 companies, employing 600 people on the site.

In September, it was announced that the county council had given the go-ahead for a £49.6m expansion that will provide up to 270,000 square feet of new laboratory, office, production and storage space, creating more than 1,200 jobs.

“It represents a really important signal for the future – a vote of confidence in County Durham as a great place to innovate,” says Sarah.

With further major developments like Station Place, at Newton Aycliffe, and Milburngate and Aykley Heads, in Durham City – alongside support schemes such as Finance Durham, the County Durham Growth Fund, and the Durham Business Opportunities Programme – she describes it is “a truly exciting time” for Durham.

“It has been a very tough period for everyone and, of course, the pandemic still poses challenges, but I’m confident that there are positive signs for the future.

“When you’ve found a way through a traumatic event of historic proportions, it gives you a foundation for moving forward with confidence. You say to yourself ‘Well, we’ve got through this, so what can we do now?’”