If you’re looking for advice to grow your business, to recover from the effects of lockdown, or to navigate the new trading relationship with the EU, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBSLEP) Growth Hub is on hand to help.

The GBSLEP Growth Hub covers all of Birmingham and Solihull, as well as north Worcestershire and southern Staffordshire. The team has grown recently, and now includes 18 business support professionals – including a Creative Industries Advisor who works directly with BCU Advantage. They have in-house specialists in funding and finance, manufacturing, tech, and the UK transition to name a few.

When you contact the hub for help, you’ll be put in touch with the advisers who will best understand your individual sector and circumstances.

“The Growth Hub has been supportive and when you speak to them you feel that they genuinely want to help you, they have the willingness to support and develop my business in any way they can.” Adil Delwar, CEO of Palm Life, a sustainable tableware company that received the Growth Hub’s help with COVID recovery.

Covid-19 business recovery

The Growth Hub is no longer only a place for growing businesses to seek support.

Since the start of the pandemic, the team has been helping some of the hardest-hit SMEs in the region to pivot into new markets, access grants, and protect their workforce from redundancy.

Click here to read about how the Growth Hub has helped a creative agency to receive grant funding in order to take their business in a new direction since losing their hospitality clients due to lockdown. If you’re looking to adapt your business, take your sales online or pivot into new markets, speak to a Growth Hub Adviser today.

Current programmes and opportunities

Here are just a few examples of the kinds of support the team can refer you to:

• Get a free digital health check to see how you’re doing with digital adoption compared to other SMEs in your industry. Digital experts will also help you pinpoint areas of opportunity to improve your profitability.
• Be paired with a successful leader for up to 12 months of one-to-one mentoring support with the Mentoring for Growth programme.
• Contact the new GBSLEP Skills Hub for a free analysis of your training needs, and ongoing support as you work towards developing a talented workforce.
• Free regional events from us and our partners are listed here. The team can point you to the ones that will be helpful for you, and let you know what else is coming up.

Whatever help your business needs – from help with writing bids or managing your company’s marketing, to accessing grants or getting investment-ready, the Growth Hub is your one stop shop for advice.

To find out more and grow your business, call 0800 032 3488 or visit the website, where you can also request a callback and chat online.

Birmingham City University works closely with the Growth Hub – find out more about it’s Creative Analysis programme designed to get support for your Growing Creative Business.