SMALL BUSINESS COMMISSIONER IS KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT SOUTH WEST NETWORKING EVENT

The UK’s Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal is visiting Wiltshire on Tuesday May 7 to meet with members of the SME sector in the South West.

Paul, who ran his own construction company for 20 years, took up his role when the office of the Small Business Commissioner was created in December 2017. It’s an independent public body set up to tackle late payment and unfavourable payment practices in the private sector. 

During its second year in operation, Paul and his team aim to travel around the UK meeting as many business owners as possible to share the work of his office – and to hear from those owners about their experiences around cash flow and late payment. 

Paul said: “Running your own business can be a very lonely experience and my priority will be ensuring small firms feel supported as well as helping to create an overall impression that business isn’t necessarily cut throat.”

Late payment and unfair practices have a significant impact on the SME sector and the economy as a whole. 

• a third of all payments to small businesses are late.
• the average payment value is £6,142
• 20 per cent of small businesses have problems with cash flow because of it.
• if payments were made on time, it’s estimated it would boost the economy by £2.5bn. 

Paul, who ran his own business for 20 years, took up the role just over a year ago with the aim of bringing about fair payment practice for the UK's 5.7million small businesses. 

He hopes to bring about a culture change around late payment and its impact on productivity and survival of many SMEs. In some circumstances, his team can help SMEs tackle payment disputes with larger businesses. 

He’s coming to Swindon at the invitation of the town’s leading not-for-profit business referral group BusinessWise and is supported by The Workshed. The event will run from 6pm to 8.30pm at The Workshed on Tuesday May 7 and tickets are £15 plus booking fee. 

Jerry Thornton, chair of BusinessWise, said: “We felt it was a fantastic opportunity for the Small Business Commissioner to meet Wiltshire and Swindon business people and to find out more about how he can help us when it comes to late payment. We welcome anyone interested from across Wiltshire or nearby to this evening event. ” 

The evening will follow an agenda with round-table discussions facilitated by BusinessWise members, a talk by Paul with time for Q&As. Tickets are paid for to cover a portion of the costs of this not-for-profit event and they are limited. To book please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-uks-small-business-commissioner-tickets-56480658169

Alternatively you can email info@businesswise.org for further information.