Businesses located on the three industrial estates in Penrith can once again take advantage of free support to develop through Cumbria Business Growth Hub.
Penrith Industrial BID has stepped up to fund this support – available to businesses at Gilwilly Industrial Estate, Penrith Industrial Estate and Eden Business Park – after Eden District Council withdrew funding.
The support offered includes a mix of one-to-one adviser time from expert advisers to review business opportunities and challenges.
There is a subsidy scheme, which offers grants towards website design, marketing plans, search engine optimisation, HR, finance, legal, training (not funded elsewhere) and accreditations such as ISO and SALSA.
And there is free training on topics such as marketing, sales and pricing, bid writing, pitch to win, winning at email marketing, optimising websites for lead generation, and Cumbria Forum, a six-month intensive leadership development programme delivered by Growth Hub partner Lancaster University Management School.
Suzanne Caldwell, Deputy Chief Executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, the lead partner in the Growth Hub, said: “We’re so pleased to be working in partnership with Penrith Industrial BID to support Eden businesses.
“No funding has been available since Eden District Council withdrew from the scheme, leaving businesses in the area without support.
“The beauty of working with the Growth Hub is that we can more than double this investment through the Chamber’s European funding match.
“So we’re particularly delighted that Penrith Industrial BID has stepped forward to enable support to its businesses over the next two years.
“We’ve already attended a Penrith Industrial BID business-to-business event to speak to businesses and are working with them to develop a range of free training in line with their interests.”
Sam Morris, Chairman of Penrith Industrial BID, added: “The directors of Penrith Industrial BID are delighted to be working with Cumbria Chamber of Commerce.
“There are more than 150 businesses across Penrith business parks and we believe this partnership will give businesses a fantastic opportunity for training and business support.
“Following the launch there is already a lot of enthusiasm and support for this venture and we look forward to working with the team at Cumbria Business Growth Hub over the next two years.”
Businesses at any stage or in any sector can find out more by calling the Growth Hub on 0844 257 84 50 or emailing [email protected]
