Firms hit by lack of advice agency cash

Scott Simpson – who will this week launch Resource for Business, a not-for-profit support group for SMEs – said the services offered by Business Gateway were good but that the agency was under-resourced.

Resource – which will serve companies that are too small to join groups such as the Entrepreneurial Exchange – already has backing from business people including online Dragons' Den star Shaf Rasul, outdoor equipment retailer Chris Tiso, and Charan Gill, Glasgow's self-proclaimed "curry king".

Simpson said small businesses were preparing themselves for cutbacks in government support following the General Election and were looking for ways to help one another by sharing skills and experience.

He said: "We are all too aware that the true state of the UK economy will only become clear during the next parliament and, for many companies, having survived the recession will be only the beginning of the challenges that they will face.

"Business Gateway does a good job, but it doesn't have enough resources and so some businesses have told us that they sometimes have trouble accessing help and support."

Resource, which is being launched in Glasgow on Wednesday and is expected to expand throughout the rest of Scotland next year, will target firms that turn over between 10,000 and 1 million.

While the new group has received support from Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde University, Simpson said no public funding had been made available for the project and that his own firm, marketing agency Voltage Creative, had pumped 30,000 into the project. Other entrepreneurs who have lent their support to the scheme include Simon Howie, Fiona Hamilton and Sandra McClumpha.

A Scottish Government spokesman defended Business Gateway's record in supporting small firms. He said: "Business Gateway is providing extremely effective business advice and support service to Scotland's potential start-up, early stage and established businesses across all sectors."