Partner Article

JEREMIE initiative under threat

News that EU funding for north west SMEs could be under threat post-Brexit has been described as “disappointing” by Crowe Clark Whitehill.

Rebecca Durrant, tax partner in the Manchester office of the national audit, tax and advisory firm said the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises – dubbed JEREMIE – could be a casualty of the Referendum vote outcome.

JEREMIE has helped more than 1,700 companies in the north of England and is said to have created 10,000 jobs in the last six years.

But now the Government has said it cannot give any guarantees about future EU funds.

Rebecca Durrant said: “The news that the Government will not be able to guarantee further EU funding for small businesses in the North of England is disappointing. The withdrawal of this important resource could heavily impact the region’s early stage businesses and stall the growth of more established companies, which in turn will affect the jobs market.

“That said, our entrepreneurs are resilient and have learnt not to depend on government backed initiatives. But there is no doubt this it will make securing investment more challenging. There will naturally be more reliance on alternative lenders and business-angel investors to fill the gap.

“It is important that the Government acts quickly to reassure businesses in the North that they will be supported, and that we see a genuine commitment to the Northern Powerhouse. It would be a pity if this was a casualty of Brexit,” she said.

David Gauke, chief secretary to the Treasury has promised an announcement on the future of EU funding in general in the “not too distant future”, but Mrs Durrant said the concern was that a vital source of funding could be interrupted, slowing the potential for growth just when more support, rather than less, was needed.

Ends (300 words)

For further information, please contact:

Lynda Blackshaw, Director, National Marketing & Communications – 07917 095347

Crowe Clark Whitehill, The Lexicon, Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NT

Prepared and issued by Andy Skinner of ASAP – 01789 490786 or 07990 978257

Notes to Editors:

Crowe Clark Whitehill is a national audit, tax and advisory firm and the UK member of Crowe Horwath International, one of the largest global professional service organisations with 171 independent member firms operating from 671 offices around the world.

The firm has 9 offices in the UK, with more than 70 partners and over 500 members of staff, and is ranked as one of the top ten firms in the UK by audit fee. In 2014 Crowe Clark Whitehill was named as Best Tax Investigations Team at the Taxation Awards and Pensions Accountancy Firm of the Year at the Pensions Age Awards. The firm was also listed as Top 25 Accountancy Firms and Top 25 most admired companies by eprivateclient.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andy Skinner .