Meet the Investment Readiness team

Mike Dean

Programme Manager

Mike is an accomplished business leader with over 20 years of experience in delivering large-scale business support programmes. Before founding WhisperClaims, an innovative software business in the accounting space.

Helen Fortune

Business Finance Specialist

Under the Investment Readiness Programme Helen offers support to Pre-Start, Start-Up and Established Businesses, based in Birmingham, Solihull & the Black Country, who have 'High Growth Potential'.

Sharn Haywood-Higgs

Business Finance Specialist

Sharn has supported businesses for many years, in many different roles including start-up business support and high growth business support.

Vernon Hogg

Business Finance Specialist

SME Access to Finance across Greater Birmingham & Solihull with Local Enterprise Partnership. Independent business consultant since 2015. Previously automotive industry, JLR network.

Robert Rabone

Business Finance Specialist

Supporting start-ups and scale-ups to develop a deeper understanding of available finance and resource support, to enable access to such finance and to provide wider business support as appropriate.

Jack Francis Kelly

Business Finance Specialist

Jack supports start-ups and growing businesses with finance, funding, and strategy. With experience at Handelsbanken and BDO, he combines a background in corporate finance and tax with hands-on entrepreneurial insight from ventures in property and digital marketing.

Connor McManus

Business Finance Specialist

With a strong background in early-stage ventures, I’ve spent the last decade immersed in the health and fitness industry, contributing to the rapid growth of businesses like F45 in Australia.
Check out our latest news
Carl Smith founded Van Monkey Limited to do one thing well: Keep British businesses on the road. From its West Midlands base, the company supplies and manages commercial vehicles - sales, lease and rental - for organisations that need reliable vans without the hassle.

Secure the funding you need with our expert help today!

Simply complete and submit the form, and we’ll be in touch to discuss how we can help your business.