Business support

Our offer of support to Park Royal businesses

Covid-19, Brexit, the cost-of-living crisis, energy costs, supply chain difficulties, the war in Ukraine and a shortage of labour have all presented businesses in the OPDC area with an unparalleled array of challenges and difficulties.

What support is on offer?

The Forge@ParkRoyal has commissioned a panel of specialists to provide tailored support to any business in the OPDC area.

We have commissioned industry specialists who can offer support on a range of subjects including marketing, finance and business operations, as well as specific advice to creative and food manufacturing businesses.

If your business requires support and advice on any of the topics listed below please get in touch at info@TheForgeParkRoyal.London

How does it work?

We will pay for an initial consultation between your business and the relevant specialist. This will cover the specialists’ initial call, preparation time and research and a preliminary meeting. Where possible specialists will come to visit your business and meet with you face-to-face. Should you require further support or advice, then this will be for your business to negotiate with the specialist.

Meet the specialists:

All of our specialists are local and have good knowledge of Park Royal and the challenges faced by businesses on the estate.

Elsa Caleb

Specialism: finance and start-up support

By developing ‘out-of-the-box’ business programmes that meet the demands of your growing business, I can bring you the unique approaches that will give you the results you want. As I walk alongside business owners to help them turn their business around and take them to the next level, we explore additional revenue streams and targeted ways of improving business performance.

Loom Projects

Specialism: creative sector

We help artists and creative practitioners to realise ambitious projects - often involving communities or rooted in a particular place. We have a team of efficient and experienced producers who can support your project, whether a one-off event or long term programme.

We help creative people and businesses think through their ideas and turn them into reality.

Our expertise includes:

  • Project / Concept Development
  • Fundraising and Sponsorship
  • Partnerships and Community-building
  • Advising on Project Management

ROR3

Specialism: food manufacturing and engineering

At ROR3 we help businesses and investors deliver manufacturing projects and engineering strategies that will transform your business and help drive your overall goals.

Our project engineering consultants and project managers provide expertise in a wide range of technical areas and project types across a number of manufacturing sectors.

Our goal is to create a more efficient and sustainable world, and for us that means delivering your next project to an exceptional standard.

We listen to your needs and deliver solutions as we manage the full project lifecycle for your next investment safely and efficiently.

Planning For The Best

Specialism: business operations

We are Organisational Management and Sales Enablement and Selling Specialists. Our clients are owners of SMEs and we build on their goals to deliver Growth, Earnings and Control. If you want your business to grow, our experience, knowledge and insights bring the perspectives and ideas that will move you forward.”

Kokopelli : becs@kokopelli.london, James@Kokopelli.london

Specialism: marketing

We’ve chosen to work exclusively with SMEs because we believe that business owners should be rewarded for their blood, sweat and tears with marketing that actually delivers business growth. Small-to medium-business owners face a tough choice when it comes to marketing: where can they invest their often limited budget to get the best results. There’s no point in being idealistic and offering them every marketing service available. But there’s also little to be gained from focusing on one area.

Instead, we start by getting to know their business-level objectives and how much they can reasonably spend on marketing. Then we look at the right mix of marketing - from branding and strategy to SEO and social media - and lay out a plan to achieve their aspirations, for a cost that meets their expectations.

Free recruitment support:

We can connect your business with screened and matched local candidates. We can advertise your vacancies on our website and share them with our delivery partners. The Forge Recruitment and Business Advisors will be happy to meet you to gain an understanding of your business and of the roles that you are recruiting to. To post your vacancies, just register your business on the portal and one of our team will get in touch.

Free additional support is also available at The London Business Hub

Solar Panel advice

In addition to the support listed above, OPDC has commissioned specialist energy consultants who can advise on solar panel (PV) installation. The Forge team will carry out a quick preliminary questionnaire, and where suitable we will pay for businesses and landowners to receive a free feasibility study. This includes a meeting with the consultant who will walk you through the financial and environmental benefits, as well as different funding and installation options. If this is something that is of interest, please get in touch at info@theforgeparkroyal.london

Grow London Local : Small Business Support

Grow London Local (GLL), delivered by London & Partners, the capital’s business growth and destination agency, will provide both in-person and online services for small businesses across London. Grow London Local’s 24 Small Business Advisors are working in the community, supporting underserved entrepreneurs who face additional barriers to finding help. This could include signposting to support, providing business planning, skills, sales and marketing guidance, as well as opportunities to connect and network with like-minded business owners and mentors. Later this year, businesses will also be able to access skills training from the Mayor’s Adult Education Budget through the Grow London Local programme.

Grow London Local delivers on the Mayor’s 2021 manifesto pledge to create a ‘single front door’ for small business support, bringing together various schemes and support packages under a single banner, boosted by the knowledge and experience of London & Partners.

The scheme has been in a pilot stage since November 2023, during which time 811 small businesses have already received support both online or by discussing their businesses’ requirements in person with Grow London Local’s team of expert Business Support Managers. The programme has supported businesses in every London borough in the last three months.

Grow London Local is aiming to work with more than 12,000 small businesses in this way between now and March 2025.

There are estimated to be around one million small businesses in London (defined as employing up to 249 people), with one in four currently facing financial vulnerability.

Grow London Local will help firms access the right support at the right time, helping entrepreneurs to thrive and become financially resilient.

About Grow London Local

Grow London Local is the single front door for micro & small business support in the capital. Grow London Local provides access to events, online tools and in-person guidance through a digital platform and a dedicated network of in-community business support managers. It is run by London & Partners, the business and destination agency for London. It is funded from a combination of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Mayor’s skills funding and Growth Hub funding. For more information, visit: https://www.growlondonlocal.london/