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The Marches Growth Hub – the one stop shop for business support and advice in Shropshire, Telford and Herefordshire – has helped more than 50,000 companies realize their ambitions, new figures show.

Dave Courteen

The hub has supported a total of 52,295 companies in some form since it was founded six years ago, as the numbers show.

During that time, business consultants have also helped 1,910 businesses start up, while the hub’s extensive website attracted 103,986 unique visitors. Business support is provided in partnership with Herefordshire Council, Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council.

The numbers were released to mark the 10th anniversary of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and its decade of delivery. The LEP oversees the Marches Growth Hub.

Dave Courteen, chairman of the Marches Business Support Steering Group and Marches LEP Small Business Champion, said the numbers showed the tremendous impact the center was having across the region.

“This is a real help provided to real businesses across the Marche region day in and day out to ensure our businesses are in the best possible shape to continue to grow and prosper,” said Dave.

“The hub’s success since its launch in 2015 has been extraordinary. We have become the first stop for all business support and advice, and have helped thousands of entrepreneurs and innovators realize their ambitions.

“We achieved this through our unique way of working – in partnership with our public and private sectors as well as our providers of qualifications and training and development programs so that we can ensure that we have all the information companies need right at hand.”

Examples of the key roles the Marches Growth Hub has played in helping businesses thrive across the region include:

EMS: The environmental management consultancy has opened new offices in Hereford thanks to the support of the Marches Growth Hub Herefordshire. The move created two full-time and one part-time positions and established the district’s first asbestos testing laboratory. Business Development and Marketing Manager Lucy Harris said, “Our overall experience working with the hub has been so positive that we will definitely try to build on the relationship to fuel our continued growth. The help and support is so readily available that we would encourage all other companies to follow our example. “

Planet donut: Shrewsbury has made a meteoric rise in just three years to become one of the most popular brands in the region, employing 32 people in its Battlefield bakery and eight in retail. With The Marches Growth Hub, the company was able to move to a new, state-of-the-art bakery, access funding programs, and develop its business plan. Duncan McGregor, who co-founded the company with his wife, Samantha, said, “The help and support we received from the Marches Growth Hub Shropshire has been critical to our continued success. The hub literally supported me from the start and was always easy to reach and work with. “

Global minds: The software services company has more than doubled in size after moving from London to Telford thanks to the help of the Marches Growth Hub. Executive Director Hema Kumar says the company’s planned expansion, which will grow to 70 employees by the end of next year and increase sales by 20 percent, without the support of Marches Growth Hub Telford & Wrekin. “The growth center was excellent. They gave us excellent advice and support and helped us to find exactly the right offices in the most desirable location in the city center. “

Other key figures released in the official report to the Department of Corporate, Energy and Industrial Strategy show that 52,851 people received “light” triage, information and / or signage assistance from the hub, and 408 companies received “high-intensity” assistance and 688 were referred to a funding program.

The hub’s comprehensive website – https://www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk – provides links to advisory programs, workshops, events, funding information, regional and national support, and a unique business support database.

The hub also has bases in Hereford, Shrewsbury and Telford, where its work is carried out in partnership with local government business support teams.

“Our satisfaction surveys have shown that an overwhelming number of companies we interact with are happy with the support they receive,” said Dave.

The center has worked with other growth hubs in the West Midlands during the pandemic to ensure its help reaches as many businesses as possible and has also helped recruit additional consultants in key sectors, Dave added.