London is waking up to the need to innovate, backed by a multiplicity of grants and funds and an agency answering to Mayor Ken Livingstone.
George Barlow, chairman of the London Development Agency, kicked off the recent London Innovation Conference with the observation that London has 42 higher education institutions but only 58 Teaching Company Schemes (TCS). Half of these are apparently operated by South Bank University and London ranks last in the land fortakeup of TCS.
There is no lack of money. Lord Sainsbury, Minister of Science and Technology, said that 40% of UK venture capital is invested in London based firms. He also stated that despite the fact that 40% of the nation’s design consultancies are based in London, and the capital produces 25% of UK graduates, business innovation in London rates below par in European Community surveys.
As well as DTI Smart and other nationwide schemes, there are funds aimed at encouraging innovation and investment in the poorer parts of London. For example, Regional Selective Assistance, administered by the LDA, is a discretionary grant, which provides assistance for projects with fixed capital expenditure over L500,000 which create or safeguard jobs in the East Thames Corridor and the Upper and Lower Lea Valley. Assistance is available to establish a new company; to expand and/or modernise or rationalise an existing business; to set up research and development facilities; or to enable a firm to take the next step from development to production. The offer of assistance is available up to 10% of the fixed project costs.
London seed Capital (LSC) is a new venture capital firm from Greater London Enterprise, London’s economic development company. LSC has L2.8m to invest in start-up and early stage companies seeking between L250k and L500k. LSC has been launched with the financial backing of the Small Business Service and private investors. And in the private sector, The Capital Fund is a new venture capital fund that has raised L50m for fast-growing small-to- medium enterprises in Greater London.
Copyright Findlay Publications Limited Apr 2003
