Business Report is looking for businesses that are innovating and looking for new ways of working so they survive the recession for a series of features.

The articles would appear in the May/June 2009 edition of the publication as part of our successful ‘Made in the Midlands' section.

Perhaps you want to share your innovative business practices with the West Midlands business community and pass on advice to other companies that are having to think creatively or look for new business opportunities.

We'd love to hear from you. If you think you can help then please contact one of our team:

Adam Tipper

adam@businessreport.co.uk

01902 710078

Charles Addison

charles@businessreport.co.uk

01902 710078

Help is failing to reach struggling businesses quickly enough, despite the launch of a region-wide initiative to throw lifelines to firms, it has been claimed.

 Since January 2009, just under 11,500 businesses have telephoned Business Link West Midlands and the credit crunch hotline, desperately seeking support, advice or financial help.

 Birmingham and Solihull accounted for 21 per cent of calls made to the hotline, while Black Country firms made up 22 per cent of calls. Nineteen per cent of calls came from firms seeking help in Coventry and Warwickshire, 16 per cent in Staffordshire, 14 per cent in Hereford and Worcester and just seven per cent in Shropshire.

 But Mr David Wright MP (Lab, Telford) said despite the launch of the West Midlands Taskforce to help firms survive during the economic downturn, many firms were still unaware of the help available.

  "AWM and anyone else in public service needs to ensure that the message is getting through clearly. That isn't happening at the moment," he said.

 Mr John Hemming (Lib Dem, Yardley) said RDAs, such as Advantage West Midlands, were not able to respond quickly enough to the crisis.

 "One of the difficulties is that AWM and similar bodies are not really set up to respond quickly and now is a time when urgent help is needed.," he said.

 "Some of the Treasury's new schemes are taking too long to implement."

Thousands of companies across the Midlands are losing out on tens of thousands of pounds of corporation tax relief because they are not claiming for research and development costs.

 Mr Mark Evans, managing director of Tildesley Tonks chartered accountants and business support advisers, said many firms had no idea that they could claim back tax relief on much of their R&D work.

 In just a few months, he has won back about £80,000 from HMRC, £65,000 of which was for just one firm.

 He believes there are at least 1,500 companies in the Black Country alone that could claw back some money.

 "Most of them don't realise what they can claim back as there is a misconception about what R&D is," said Mr Evans.

 "It's not just about men in white coats in a lab, looking for a cure for cancer; it's more about how a business has changed its processes to improve its products.

  "Businesses have absolutely nothing to lose by looking into it - and may get thousands of pounds back."