RIVER CAPITAL FUELLING AMBITION IN THE NORTH WEST

At River Capital, we have a range of innovative debt products designed to support business growth, job creation, and regional prosperity. With a commitment to deploying capital where it’s needed most, we offer tailored financing solutions for businesses at various stages of development.

At the heart of River Capital’s offering is the £25,000 - £100,000 NPIF II Small Loans program. This initiative targets businesses that require a financial boost to take their operations to the next level. By providing accessible funding in this crucial range, River Capital is nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit that drives innovation across the North West.

For businesses with more substantial capital needs, the £18,000,000 North West Business Growth Loan Fund stands ready to fuel expansion plans. This significant fund demonstrates River Capital’s confidence in the region’s economic potential and its commitment to supporting larger-scale growth initiatives with funding available up to £500,000.

Complementing these offerings is the Flexible Growth Fund, which provides funding up to £1,000,000. This versatile financial instrument is designed to address a wide range of business needs, from working capital requirements to major expansion projects. The flexibility built into this fund allows River Capital to respond quickly to the diverse needs of the Liverpool business community.

What sets River Capital apart is not just the scale of our funding but our readiness to deploy capital swiftly and strategically. We understand that in today’s fast-paced business environment, timely access to finance can make the difference between seizing an opportunity and missing out. By focusing on business growth, job creation, and retention, we are playing a pivotal role in shaping the economic landscape of Liverpool and the North West. Our debt products are more than just financial instruments; they’re catalysts for regional prosperity, helping to build stronger, more resilient businesses that can compete on a national and global stage.

As Liverpool and the North West continues to emerge as a powerhouse of innovation and enterprise, River Capital stands ready to provide the financial capabilities that will fuel the ambition of the region’s success story.

DO ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ENHANCE ECO-INNOVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE?

Professor Jordi Surroca, Chair in Strategic Management and Head of the Strategy, International Business and Entrepreneurship Subject Group

Eco-innovation, which is typically reflected in green patents, is an organisation’s capacity to generate technological knowledge and develop solutions to reduce environmental impact. Eco-innovators can do this by, for example, delivering new or improved products and services, or implementing processes, practices, and systems to save resources and reduce emissions.

Our recent research supports the expectation that green patents indeed reduce firms’ environmental footprint and our findings highlight the complex relationships among eco-innovation, environmental management systems (EMS) and environmental performance. However, our analyses show how the adoption of the ISO 14001 undermines, rather than boosts, the positive impact of green innovations on environmental performance. These findings challenge the widely held view of EMS as platforms that allow new green technological knowledge to flourish and help develop solutions to improve corporate sustainability.

Our evidence reveals that EMS may act as an obstacle. A complementary qualitative analysis based on interviews with elite informants, such as EMS consultants and auditors, and senior managers supported the idea that EMS could act as a deterrent to achieving sustainability from ecoinnovation. Informants highlighted the rigidity and bureaucracy of standardised EMS as factors that can diminish the employees’ (and the firm’s) predisposition to build new green capabilities, with standardisation being perceived as a hassle, rather than a tool to enhance environmental performance.

Considering the research findings, firms in highly polluting industries need to promote flexibility in their green innovation processes to achieve better performance outcomes. Results also stress the need for standardsetting organisations to find the right balance in the standardisation of practices when re-designing standards, such as ISO 14001. Standardisation should provide some degree of structure, whilst leaving room for the flexibility firms need to deploy dynamic capabilities, and achieve superior green performance.

For more information, head to the blog section on www.liverpool.ac.uk/management

Professor Jordi Surroca

Henry Silver Director – Wealth Planning at Investec Wealth & Investment (UK)

Saving for the future might not always be at the forefront of one’s mind, but it is one of the most crucial financial steps that can be taken. As the cost of living rises and traditional final salary pension schemes become less prevalent, taking control of your pension savings and understanding the impact of compounding on growth of assets is key to achieving your financial goals. To this end, there are some practical steps you can take to begin saving today.

Following the changes to auto-enrolment in April 2019, there are more individuals saving through pensions in the UK than ever before. In addition to saving towards retirement, from individual means, there are many benefits to saving through a pension:

- Tax relief on contributions: Most people will get pension relief on their pension payments. The amount of tax relief is dictated by the amount of income tax paid. A basic-rate taxpayer receives 20% tax relief on payments, a higher-rate taxpayer will get 40% and an additional-rate taxpayer will get 45%. In real terms, this means paying £100 into your pension plan could cost as little as £55.

- Tax efficient growth: Pension funds grow largely tax-free, which helps maximise growth. This is of increasing importance with the reduction in allowances for investments held outside of a pension wrapper. For example, the individual annual Capital Gains Tax exemption for 2024/25 tax year is £3,000, having been £12,300 in the 2022/23 tax year.

- Tax free cash: When it comes to accessing pension savings, a quarter of the pot can be accessed without paying tax. For those without the requisite protection, an upper limit of £268,275 (25% of the former lifetime allowance) is applied.

There is no universal rule to dictate how much should be saved in a pension pot at retirement. Personal circumstances and income requirements are integral to determining the level of funds needed. However, many people set their target at £1 million because of the income it is possible to take from a fund of this size.