Competitive Edge Programme

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Economic Development Unit

COMPETITIVE EDGE PROGRAMME

Applications for this programme will be open in 2012.

 

WHAT IS THE COMPETITIVE EDGE PROGRAMME

To help local businesses stay ahead of the competition, Lisburn City Council runs a new business development initiative, the Competitive Edge Programme.

This programme aims to assist local companies to grow faster and to sustain their competitive advantage through activities that will reduce costs, streamline business processes, exploit new market opportunities and increase their long-term sustainability. 

Funded by the Council and the EU under the Sustainable Competitiveness Programme 2007-2013, the programme is designed to support small businesses in Lisburn with the desire to increase their sales base through the introduction of new products/services or by entering into new markets.

KEY BENEFITS

  • Support and advice to help you identify new sales opportunities for your business
  • Assistance to exploit these opportunities during and after the programme
  • Advice on how to identify internal efficiencies, reduce costs and manage suppliers more effectively
  • Competitive Edge Programme Brief
PARTICIPANTS

The following companies participated on the 2009 Competitive Edge Programme:

  • 3dpix
  • McCallum Health & Safety
  • McCulla Ireland Ltd
  • Serious PR Ltd
  • Unity IT LTd
  • Norspace
  • BJ Fast Food Supplies
  • Underwater Pistol
  • MSM Promotions
  • Elite Blinds
  • SRK Equipment Company
  • Central Source
KEY OUTPUTS

Below are some outputs from the 2009 Competitive Edge Programme:

  • Total number of meetings set up
    In total 63 meetings were set up for participating companies, giving an average of 5.25 meetings per client.  This is above the overall programme target by 15 meetings.

  • Projected % increase in turnover over 12 months

    67% of participating businesses forecast a minimum increase in turnover of 10% over the coming 12 months as a direct result of participating on the programme. One client, BJ Fast Food Supplies, has projected an increase in turnover of 100% over the coming 12 months, as he is now in advanced distributor agreements with the Henderson Group, who have have 400 stores in NI alone. The average forecasted % increase in turnover per company is 16%, which exceeds the programme target of 10%.

  • Number of jobs retained
    100% of participating companies stated that all current employees should be retained over the coming 12 months, with no redundancies planned.

  • Number of new jobs created
    As a result of the programme, 58% of participating companies confirmed at least one new member of staff will be brought on board over the coming 12 months, with one company, McCulla Ireland, keen to employ between 3 and 6 additional new staff.  This has resulted in between 9 and 12 additional new jobs created over the next 12 months, which meets or exceeds the programme target of 9 new jobs.

  • Expenditure in new investment

    1/3 of participating businesses are planning for increased investment within their business over the coming 12 months, in most cases involving capital equipment investment. The total expected expenditure is between £306K and £344K over the next 12 months. This exceeds the programme target of £100K by over 200%.

  • Overheads
    All 12 participating companies confirmed they expect overheads to remain as they were pre-programme, with one company stating they expected overheads to be lower. This meets the programme target.

 

Wave 2 of the Competitive Edge Programme will commence in September 2010. Information about how to apply will be available nearer the time.