Local Economy

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Redcar Athletic Entrepreneurship Scheme

The RAES has been setup by the club as its principal solution to ‘Campaign 1: Local Economy’. Entrepreneurship in the region of Redcar and East Cleveland has lagged behind national averages for a generation. Currently our region is circa 2500 businesses short of national averages.

That’s not a reflection of talent, not a reflection of opportunity and not a reflection of the belief we have in a vibrant and economically diverse Redcar & Cleveland.

However, for too long the opportunites that do exist have been disproportinately weighted towards the requirement of external investment and/or the requirement for government policy to stimulate local activity.

Simply put we need more entrepreneurs that allows Redcar & Cleveland to start to move towards a position to break free from the constant requirement for state aid and the stabalizers of constant external and government help.

Data from the ‘North East Evidence Hub’ details that outside of London there are 483 enterprises per 10,000 population.

Data from the Tees Valley LEP
Data Insights portal shows that in 2021 Redcar & Cleveland has only 274 enterprises per 10,000 people.

If Redcar & Cleveland was just on par with national averages that would mean an additional 2717 enterprises in our region.

Additionally the average ‘birth’ rates of new business in the UK in 2020 was 11.9% according to ONS stats. Redcar and Cleveland was operating at 10%.

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How will the scheme work?

The scheme will see an initial £100,000 invested into existing and new businesses that must be based in the Redcar and Cleveland region.

The investment will see the organization benefit from not only the financial input but from the experience, expertise and network of the board of Redcar Athletic FC.

The fund is being created by Redcar Athletic’s Chairman, Dale Smith. Dale is the Co-owner and founder of Host & Stay (part of the successful SDDE Smith Group) which also boasts other local organisations such as WoodSmith Construction and GreySmith Legal.

Dale said:

“Redcar & Cleveland is where I am from, it’s where I live and it’s where I have developed my businesses. I am passionate that through the football club we can reach out to those who want to take an independent step in their lives. I know there are great ideas, great industry and determination in our region and if we can support that then superb.

“It is vital that our region now shifts to an aspirational footing away from the dependencies of the past. However, we must also continue to highlight the very real differences that still exist for the great people of Redcar and Cleveland vs the rest of the country.

“The opportunity here is to be able to assist local people and businesses, provide them with our experience, hopefully give them some good guidance as well.

“Let’s be different, let’s be entrepreneurial and hopefully inspire others to do the same.”

The fund itself will be administered and delivered by Redcar Athletic F.C.

How will the fund work?

The eligibility criteria will be as follows:

The individual and/or the business must be based within the boundaries of Redcar & Cleveland
The business can be at concept, early start-up stage or
The business can be from any sector or industry
The business needs to be in a limited by shares legal entity
There is no age limit on those applying
The total fund size is initially £100,000 (to be spread out across a number of investments)
Being in receipt of the fund will see the funder take up an agreed percentage of ownership of the business.