Sheffield City Region

INVESTING IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE’S RECOVERY AND RENEWAL

James Muir, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board, reflects on the Government’s Spring Budget and looks ahead to South Yorkshire’s future

This year has been difficult for businesses in South Yorkshire, but predictions for economic recovery, extended support from the Government and news about the new South Yorkshire Renewal Fund give us reasons to be positive about the future.

Although I welcomed the Chancellor’s extension of its short-term measures to support businesses, I was disappointed the budget offered nothing by way of shifting power and resources to level up our economy and support our long-term growth with a jobs-led recovery. I had hoped to see longer-term investment in our jobs, skills and infrastructure to drive economic renewal. We will continue pushing for support for projects that will attract investment to our region.

In South Yorkshire, we’re taking action to help our people and businesses recover. We’ve achieved so much already. Working in partnership with local authorities we’ve created jobs, trained workers and revitalised our high streets. We’ve cemented our reputation as the heartland of British industry and innovation and made our places even better JAMES MUIR

places to live, work and invest. We’ve started to transform South Yorkshire.

We’re using our powers and resources to create a new Renewal Fund so we can attract businesses and grow our economy, with a pipeline of up to 50 priority projects already identified for development. These have the potential to create more than 8,400 jobs across industries including digital, energy, advanced manufacturing, scientific research, retail and logistics.

We are investing up to £860m in total to support our region’s recovery and renewal, starting with an injection of £339m this year. We’re laying the foundations of future prosperity by investing up to £500m in our places from 2022, including infrastructure and transport and funding for jobs and skills.

We’re investing in the things that matter to you, with ambitions to transform South Yorkshire by backing our people, businesses and places with support to help them thrive.

We will:

• Create jobs and apprenticeships, and help people find them • Back our businesses to survive and thrive • Put spades in the ground to reimagine our high streets and build homes • Get people moving with better transport, by foot, bike, bus, tram and train • Protect our planet – retrofitting homes and improving flood defences

We know that confidence in the vaccination programme coupled with a more positive outlook has boosted consumer confidence, which is now at its highest level in over a year. There are expectations of pent-up demand which should lead to a spending spree once the economy opens up in a sustainable way. There is a direct correlation between footfall recovery and urban centre size, which means that smaller towns will recover faster than larger cities. A challenge for urban policy makers is to create jobs that put money into people’s pockets, and for high streets to adapt to offer something different to online to capture this potential spend. These are some of the things we’re aiming for as we work together to transform South Yorkshire.

Your business can be part of South Yorkshire’s prosperous future. Support is available to guide you along your own path to business recovery. If you need support to develop and grow your business, get in touch with the Growth Hub team. We can help to guide you through. Contact our team on 03330 00 00 39 or Email: growthhub@ sheffieldcityregion.org.uk.

EVOGO

DRIVING SUCCESS FORWARD

After launching in 2016, flexible car leasing firm Evogo has now supplied more than 10,000 vehicles to customers across the UK. Chris Coates spoke to Evogo director John Tustin about the company’s journey and how it is adapting amid a pandemic and the rise of electric vehicles

Tell me a bit about the business.

Evogo is a smart alternative to vehicle leasing or car ownership, with a focus on vehicle subscription and flexible rental agreements. We offer 89-day contracts which can be renewed, but after the initial 89 days the vehicle can be handed back without cost, allowing customers to drive the latest makes and models without the cost of ownership or the burden of a lengthy lease.

How has it developed over the years?

Evogo was originally based in Chesterfield when vehicle subscription was in its infancy. After initially offering the flexible rental scheme to family and friends of our staff and receiving excellent feedback, we started to roll the service out to the wider public.

Due to our rapid expansion, a move quickly followed to our current head office on Upwell Street in Sheffield. It’s a 65,000 square-foot warehouse and office space which was formerly part of Sheffield Forgemasters.

Our vehicle fleet quickly grew thanks to a large volume of referral business, resulting in us opening a second location at Houghton Regis in Bedfordshire in 2017.

We now have a wide range of brand-new vehicles to choose from and have supplied in excess of 10,000 vehicles since launch.

What are the key milestone achievements in recent years?

The first milestone was to reach a fleet of 1,000 cars, which we achieved fairly quickly. Beyond that, opening the new premises at Houghton Regis was a big moment as it helped us to manage movement of our vehicle stock and improved accessibility for customers in the south of England.

We are now at the point where we have manufacturers contacting us asking if we want to take on a fleet of their vehicles, which I consider to be a milestone achievement. It shows we have built up a reputation to the extent that manufacturers, who we would previously approach to purchase vehicles from, are now requesting to work with us – that demonstrates the progress we have made in the past five years.

How has the company dealt with challenges caused by the pandemic?

Like many businesses we have had to adapt our operations, but some of the changes we have made will become permanent even after we return to some form of normality.

Firstly, we have digitised the process a customer goes through when they want to lease one of our cars, meaning that they no longer have to visit our site. We have received excellent feedback since we started offering the service so we will never go back to the old process.

At the start of the first lockdown, we also allowed customers to return vehicles before the end of their rental agreement at no extra charge. The idea behind this was to make it easy for customers who were either being financially impacted by the pandemic, or were simply not using their vehicles, to be able to return them without being penalised. Some of these customers have since returned to take out new contracts when restrictions were lifted.

We have also seen increased demand for commercial vehicles with the rise of online sales and the subsequent increase in delivery jobs. Our service is ideal for selfemployed drivers who need a

van to make their deliveries, especially those who are looking for a short-term job to generate income while they cannot do their normal work due to lockdown restrictions.

What sort of feedback do you get from staff about the company culture and workplace environment?

We aim to make our working environment as enjoyable as possible for our staff, most of whom have been with us since we originally launched back in 2016. Prior to social distancing rules, we created an open plan office environment where all departments work closely together – a setup we will return to when restrictions allow. This ensures everyone is aware of what each department is doing.

Our fleet support team members are also cross skilled and can carry out numerous functions within the business, increasing efficiencies and contributing to an improved customer experience. We have a flat management structure which gives our staff the freedom to make decisions, allowing us to react to any customer requirements with flexibility and ease.

EVOGO DIRECTOR JOHN TUSTIN

What are your plans for the future to drive further success?

We are very much following the motor industry as it moves towards hybrid and electric power.

Currently, EVs carry a significant premium over the equivalent petrol and diesel vehicles, and we know that some customers are unsure about whether an EV will work for them, so they are reluctant to spend the extra money on buying one outright or taking out a long lease. Evogo is an ideal way for those people to sample electric vehicles and work out whether the current offering of EVs are suitable for their needs.

We are also exploring the possibility of offering longer leases after receiving requests from customers. Some people are happy with their cars and have no desire to change them after six months, so we think by offering a longer contract we can add further options for customers depending on their specific needs.

Move your office phonelines to the cloud with Callwise

Keep your existing numbers Simple, low cost fixed pricing structure. Amazing local service. Increase staff flexibility Enhance customer service Virtual appointments now available! New MS Teams integration available from June 2020 New Call Centre modules available now.

Time of day call routing | Voicemail to email Call queueing | Call recording | Automated answering Simple to manage portal | Remote working Sheffield numbers | Call hunting | Conferencing ...and more besides!