Argyll and Bute Council’s Business Gateway provided support to 65 existing businesses in the last quarter of 2019/20. That’s almost double the target of 38 it aimed to reach in that time period.

This success was reported to the council’s Business Continuity Committee on Thursday (25 June).

That means by the end of the year, the Business Gateway team has supported 255 existing businesses against a target of 200.

The team provides a wide range of support, including free and impartial business advice, tailored to individual business needs, through one to one support from a business adviser as well as through a range of locally run courses and on-line resources.

Customer feedback continues to achieve good levels of satisfaction.

During 2019/20, the Business Gateway team also supported 138 businesses to start-up, an increase of 22 businesses from 2018/19, and surpassing of the Service Plan target of 100. The start-up targets for 2019/20 were met and exceeded for all four areas of Argyll and Bute.

Councillor Alastair Redman, Policy Lead for Economic Growth, said: “Argyll and Bute is full of talented and creative people and this is reflected in our higher than average level of self-employment.

“We have a terrifically dedicated team at Business Gateway who support a diverse range of local enterprises, from sole traders right up to those on the cusp of major growth. Together they have been working to underpin and grow the area’s economy.

“Obviously these figures reflect last year, and our businesses and economy have faced an incredibly tough few months. Business Gateway has changed the way it operates to help many businesses to adapt to new ways of working, and to help them access support grants. More information is available on our website: https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/coronavirus-information-businesses<http://track.vuelio.uk.com/z.z?l=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXJneWxsLWJ1dGUuZ292LnVrL2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWluZm9ybWF0aW9uLWJ1c2luZXNzZXM%3d&r=12873320065&d=11795209&p=1&t=h&h=75da53fcbcb0aef098363863b220dbd9>.”