Small and medium-sized enterprises throughout Europe have difficulty raising capital. Advantage West Midlands, one of the nine Regional Development Agencies in England, has been working for some time on a local business exchange (LBX) principally for indigenous small and medium sized companies to gain access to investor capital in the £200K to £5M range. The LBX will offer investors the opportunity to invest in regional companies that meet a set of regulatory and disclosure requirements where all necessary investor protection and market abuse mechanisms are in place. It is an ambitious and worthwhile project that has been gaining support. Z/Yen’s work has been to refine the market proposition, provide strategic advice and help with the development of market operations. Advantage West Midlands is taking a significant step forward to solve a long-running problem and Z/Yen looks forward to LBX’s launch later this year.