Business Link West Midlands

Advantage West Midlands took over responsibility for the Business Link service in the West Midlands in April 2005.  From the outset the Agency's goal was to improve the quality and relevance of the service by getting more investment and resources into the front line.

In April 2007 the new Business Link West Midlands (BLWM) company delivered a more efficient and effective service to the region's businesses.

BLWM's approach was to work with businesses more intensively and focus on delivering quality adviser support and an added-value service to clients.  This resulted in customer satisfaction levels rising to 91% from 89% in 2008. 

In its first two years of operation, BLWM exceeded its targets - delivering 139,000 business assists and creating 5,000 new businesses.

It is estimated that businesses assisted by BLWM delivered an increase in GVA of £489 million over  two years 2007-09.

Just one of the many companies supported by BLWM was Boro Foundry Ltd, in Stourbridge.

The 60-year-old family-owned foundry expanded after investing £310,000 in a giant lathe to allow it to secure more lucrative contracts.

Advice from BLWM enabled the company to tap into grant aid from Advantage West Midlands to buy the new equipment.

The investment protected 34 Black Country jobs and created another four.