With the vaccine roll-out in full swing and the recent budget announcement, business owners are looking towards a more prosperous future

Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen heart-warming stories of resilience and community spirit. Businesses and business owners in the region have demonstrated a robustness and an ability to adapt – something we’ve also witnessed across our portfolio of over 100 UK SMEs.

Since launching the £100 million Foresight East of England Fund at the end of 2019 and opening our office in the newly developed 50-60 Station Road, Cambridge at the beginning of 2020, like everyone else, we’ve predominantly been working from home. However, we have been busy, investing in a number of companies and building our local team in the region, with Bill Yost and Charlie O’Riordan joining the office during lockdown.

This investment represents the start of Foresight’s long-term commitment to the region and our strategy to support local businesses. We are also sponsoring and participating in several business growth programmes across the region, including Archant’s Future50 program which recognises Norfolk and Suffolk’s most innovative companies.

In line with our goal of helping businesses to achieve their growth ambitions, we support companies by developing new products or services, extending market reach, or benefitting the local economy through incremental job creation. Our investments into the region have hired locally, one of which is training new apprentices. Meanwhile, we’ve grown the Foresight East of England Fund team by hiring locally to the region. This ensures we’re able to work closely with business owners.

Undoubtedly, the vaccine rollout delivered so far has been a great success story of 2021, signalling the start of a re-opening and the end of lockdown. The recent budget included a number of measures to support SMEs such as additional tax relief for capital expenditure, Restart Grants, extensions on VAT for hospitality businesses, creating opportunities for companies in the region to invest in growth and thrive.

We’re sure that the next few months will present opportunities and challenges for us all but we remain committed to helping ambitious SMEs and investing throughout the region.

For further information see www.foresightgroup.eu