Our Services
The Consortium is a group of professional business mentors that provides business support services, like mentoring, workshops, training, consulting, grants and access to finance, that are all focussed on business growth.
How you can benefit from support from The Consortium
Each member of The Consortium has personal experience in starting-up, operating and growing a business. This means that whatever your objectives are, we will have either personally shared the same goals, or have helped clients with similar goals.
We are strategic in our approach, and we bring tactical ideas to the table. Think of us as your critical business friends, here to guide and support you.
About us
The Consortium members work with established SMEs, pre-start-ups, start-ups and sole traders to help their businesses grow and thrive.
The Consortium members are hand-picked
Most of us have collaborated since 2006, and the newest members of The Consortium ensure that our offering remains innovative and invigorating. As well as supporting businesses directly, our services are also retained by the public sector, including Essex County Council, BEST Growth Hub and many European Regional Development Fund business support programmes.
SECCADS is the latest business support project that presents an exciting opportunity for us to extend our footprint into the creative and cultural sectors, supporting businesses in Essex, Kent and East Sussex.
Our Clients' Stories
Ultimotive Ltd
Background
Ultimotive manufactures car cleaning chemicals in the UK, marketing them worldwide using licensed brand names Turtle Wax, Williams Car Care, Moto GP, Michelin and Stayzon. The car wash and auto detailing market is worth £8.461bn, with an annual growth rate of 2.46%. The sector is responsible for employing 208,000 people worldwide (source IBIS World). In April 2019, Ultimotive was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise for its success in international sales.
Positive Intervention
Ultimotive was a fast-growing company, whose continued export growth was restricted by a lack of working capital. Graham Broughton, an Essex Innovation mentor, introduced the business to the International Division of the client's bank, and to the Government's UK Export Finance scheme. As a result of UKEF support guarantee, the bank increased their operating facility from a low five-figure to a high six-figure sum.
Outcome
As well as the accolade of the Queen's Award for Enterprise, export sales (accounting for 39% of the company's business), experienced growth of almost 300% in the period 2015-17. Notably, at this critical time for British exports, Ultimotive's global reach is still accelerating. International markets include Australia, Qatar, Turkey, Sweden and Jordan. 2019 will see the company's footprint expand further as it launches exciting new products in Asia.
Having the Williams name at the forefront of the car care sector is important for our brand. Ultimotive's constant innovation of products has enabled the continued success that Ultimotive and Williams have experienced.
Our Work With The Public Sector
We have helped Local Authorities deliver bespoke business support outcomes since 2006.
Harnessing over 200 years' combined business experience, The Consortium members were hand-picked to deliver Essex County Council's Essex Innovation Programme (EIP) which ran from 2006-2017. The EIP funded us to mentor pre-start-ups, start-ups and established SMEs, to ensure their survival and growth. This programme was a proven success, as measured by its key performance indicators (KPIs), delivering a return of £27 for every £1 invested by Essex County Council.
This graphic shows just some of the positive outcomes of the Essex Innovation Programme:
