Business leaders in the finance, legal and advisory sectors have shared their expertise and insights to inspire Welsh businesses to recover, rebuild and revitalise following the challenges of the last year.

Jon Lambird, head of SME at Barclays UK; Jon Maycock, commercial director at Propel Finance Group; Paul Slevin, director of Quantuma Corporate Advisory Firm and Simon Tee, managing partner at Newport-based Kilsby Williams Chartered Accountants joined Chris Nott, founder and senior partner of Capital Law, for an engaging, reactive in-person debate.

Organised by Chambers Wales, the event was broadcast live from Capital Law’s offices in Cardiff.

Simon Tee said: “I think there’s a lot of doom and gloom talked about but everyone I talk to is very positive, they all want to get going. The majority of our clients are in very good shape; I think it’s a testament to the ability of Welsh entrepreneurs and the stewardship they have shown throughout this period has been absolutely fantastic.”

Jon Lambird said: “Broadly, the support schemes have done a really good job. The challenge is that those schemes are coming to an end and it’s now about what the next scheme will do when it launches in April, how that enables businesses to grow and move forward. We’re hopefully through that phase of disruption and pause and heading into growth.”

The hour-long discussion explored how businesses could pivot from short term survival to long term recovery, highlighting funding and investment opportunities through traditional lending or asset management, as well as revitalising the supply chain through onshoring.

Jon Maycock said: “What we’re starting to see now is a huge increase in enquiry for businesses seeking to invest in capital equipment. I think that’s off the back of increased confidence with what we expect to happen with the pandemic.

“We’re trying to match up the right finance with the capital investment in the equipment, really understand that equipment and help your business.”

Chambers Wales is the leading business membership organisation in Wales, bringing together the best industry expertise and resources from across Wales, and the world, to support Welsh businesses to recover, rebuild and revitalise in every sector.