Action to help cut West Midlands business energy bills
New support to help West Midlands firms cut energy bills is being announced at NatWest's first regional growth conference in Wolverhampton today.
More than 250 business leaders from the region are gathering at Molineux Stadium.
A billion pounds of lending is to be made available for manufacturers to achieve growth and reduce energy consumption.
NatWest Group chief executive Alison Rose will be speaking along with Andrew Andrea, chief executive of Wolverhampton-based Marston’s and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and city MP Pat McFadden.
A partnership with Warwick Manufacturing Group to co-fund businesses through an energy accelerator programme to help them identify and then cut energy use will also be announced.
Under the scheme, NatWest customers will be given tailored road maps to reducing costs. Manufacturers which completed the programme already have seen energy savings of between 43 and 98 per cent.
The event will highlight opportunities for West Midlands businesses to receive extra direct support from NatWest.
Applications to join the NatWest Accelerator programme reopen on May 29. They will allow a new tranche of businesses to benefit from the backing of the Birmingham Entrepreneur Accelerator, which is one of 13 across the UK providing coaching, up-skilling events and access to a community of entrepreneurs.
Alison Rose said: “NatWest is proud to be the biggest bank for UK business and a major supporter of manufacturing across the country. As a significant contributor to both our economy and our emissions, it’s important that businesses in the manufacturing sector are supported to transition to cleaner, more sustainable operations in a positive way, where the benefits outweigh the costs.
"That’s why we are aiming to provide £1 billion of lending to the manufacturing sector, to help businesses make investments for the future that will reduce energy consumption, reduce their carbon footprint and fuel their growth."
