Reviewed 23 March 2010

New support seminars set to offer UK SMEs a 'springboard' to success

Barclays Business campaign set to help new ideas become successful ventures

Starting on Monday 12 April at Cardiff City Football Club, Barclays Business, supported by the Intellectual Property Office, Business Link, HMRC, ACCA, the NFEA, and Growing Business magazine will launch their Barclays Business Springboard Seminars across the UK.

The events will offer new and existing business owners a chance to get free advice on a wide range of key start up business topics such as business planning, finance, sales, marketing and Intellectual Property (protecting your brand name or logo using trade marks). The event is a perfect environment for delegates to meet and network with fellow entrepreneurs who may be at the same stage in their businesses plans or are struggling with similar challenges that can be overcome.

Miles Rees, Business Outreach Manager at the Intellectual Property Office said:

"These events will be very helpful to the many SMEs out there who are looking for practical and realistic advice from business experts, and those who have been through the process and come out the other side with great success.

"Combined with the various other initiatives and services we (IPO) can offer, these events are a welcome addition which we are pleased to be able to support"

The events will feature guest speakers who are themselves either entrepreneurs or business experts. They use their experience and skills to offer advice to the event audience on various areas of building or growing a business. It’s hoped that delegates can then take this knowledge away and make practical use of it in their own enterprises or up and coming ventures.

Leading business guru René Carayol, who has held senior positions at Pepsi and IPC, and Steve Cooper, MD of Barclays Business, are speaking at these events.

Rene Carayol explained that:

"Barclays Business Springboard seminars aim to provide credible help and support to anyone who has a new business idea or wants to take their current venture to the next level. I will be joined by business success stories from the local area, who on practical advice and tips in order to inspire and connect budding and existing entrepreneurs.

"The sessions will be interactive and engaging, where delegates will be able to learn from people who have been there and done it."

James Hurley, editor of Growing Business magazine, added:

"Caution might still be the watchword for many small businesses, but plenty of entrepreneurs are starting to feel more bullish too; a recent survey found that 60% of small business owners are optimistic about opportunities for their firms over the next quarter, compared to less than 50% when the same poll was last conducted six months ago.

"These events will give entrepreneurs targeted information, advice and inspiration which will help them take advantage of that optimism and help them to avoid a costly misadventure."

The Barclays Business Springboard Seminars take place across the UK between 12 April and 13 May 2010. The full list of events is as follows:

  • Monday 12 April Cardiff; Cardiff City Football Club
  • Tuesday 13 April Birmingham; Aston Villa Football Club
  • Wednesday 14 April Ipswich; Ipswich Town Football Club
  • Thursday 15 April London; Emirates Stadium
  • Monday 19 April Plymouth; Plymouth Pavilions
  • Monday 26 April Manchester; Manchester United Football Club
  • Tuesday 4 May Southampton; Macdonald Botley Park Hotel
  • Wednesday 5 May London; The Brit Oval
  • Wednesday 12 May Newcastle; Newcastle United Football Club
  • Thursday 13 May Glasgow; Glasgow Science Centre

Attendees will receive exclusive news of an exciting business competition Barclays which is also running between mid-March and the end of July, rewarding the freshest business ideas up and down the UK with substantial cash prizes.

Visit the Barclays website External Link or call 0208 334 1655 to secure your free place

Notes to editors

  • The complete article about the Barclays Business Springboard Seminars appears in Growing Business magazine External Link.
  • Barclays Business is the business banking arm of Barclays. It has over 700,000 customers that are a mixture of start ups, sole traders, partnerships and limited companies.
  • Barclays Springboard events - supported by the Intellectual Property Office are designed to help turn new business ideas into reality, the Business Springboard seminars complement the free advice and support offered via Barclays long established Let’s Talk seminar programme and follow on from last year’s successful Preparing for Growth events
  • The Intellectual Property Office is within the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
  • Its role is to help manage an IP system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge based economy.
  • It operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to IP to which the United Kingdom is a party.
  • For enquiries about the Intellectual Property Office press or media activities please contact Matthew Navarra on + 44 (0)1633 818313

Date of release: 23 March 2010