County Council Leader, Councillor Rob Humby, said: “The Hampshire Growth Hub is primed to assist pre-start, start-up and growing businesses as well as those at the scale-up stage across the Hampshire County Council local authority area through the provision of high-quality business advice and support. As a small business owner myself, I know how valuable it is to be able to benefit from available support and professional guidance.
“Hampshire is a great place for businesses of all sizes to be successful – the fact that over 60,000 small to medium enterprises are operating across the county is testament to this.
“We are committed to the successful delivery of Growth Hub services, making the best use of the Government funding provided, to ensure that Hampshire retains its position as one of the most successful local economies in the UK. A high performing economy is important for ensuring Hampshire residents can enjoy social prosperity, and financial security through employment.”
Prior to 1 April 2024, the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) provided growth hub services to mid and north Hampshire and west Surrey, and the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership provided the service for south Hampshire. However, following the transfer of the LEP functions to Upper Tier Local Authorities, Hampshire County Council has responsibility for the Growth Hub across the whole of its administrative area, including the districts of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant and New Forest which were formally part of the Solent Growth Hub.
The Hub’s services aim to address barriers to growth, including access to investment and talent, and for businesses that are not ‘investor ready’ to help them prepare for the next stage of their business.
During the 2023/2024 financial year, the Hub dealt with over 2,000 customer enquiries, provided direct specialist support to more than 220 growth businesses as well as delivering a six-month leadership programme through workshops and webinars and facilitating referrals by signposting over 1,200 businesses to external partners.
There are in the region of 63,000 active businesses in the Hampshire Growth Hub area, with 99.7% employing fewer than 250 people. They cover a range of sectors from professional services, retail, construction, information and technology, as well as marine, aerospace, life sciences and creative industries. All of those businesses are potential Hampshire Growth Hub clients.
Going forward, the Hampshire Growth Hub will continue to work with external stakeholders and partners, including Government funded organisations, business membership groups, trade bodies and local authorities, plus colleges and universities to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive range of bespoke business support services.
Business leaders who would like to find out more about how the Hampshire Growth Hub can help grow their business should email: [email protected]
Note
Businesses within the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton unitary authority areas are supported by the Solent Growth Hub and businesses based in Surrey are supported by the Surrey Growth Hub.