Boost Business Lancashire

Boost Business Lancashire
Name	Boost Business Lancashire
Formation	2012
Type	Business support organisation
Headquarters	Lancashire
Region served	Lancashire, North West England
Leader title	Director
Parent organization	Lancashire County Council

Boost Business Lancashire is a business support initiative established to provide advisory services, grants, training and networking for small and medium-sized enterprises in Lancashire and the North West of England. It was launched to complement regional development strategies and to align with local enterprise partnerships, transport agencies and skills providers. The programme has engaged a range of public bodies, private consultants and sector organisations to stimulate investment, productivity and employment across urban and rural districts.

History

Boost Business Lancashire was created in the aftermath of regional regeneration efforts that included collaboration with Lancashire County Council, the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, and successors to national regeneration programmes such as Regional Development Agencies initiatives. Early pilots drew on models used by Business Link and national schemes administered through Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The initiative expanded during municipal efforts to respond to the financial crisis and austerity measures that followed the 2008 financial crisis, seeking to retain manufacturing supply chains concentrated in places like Blackburn, Blackpool, Preston, Burnley and Lancaster. Programmes were formally advertised alongside infrastructure projects involving Network Rail and local transport plans linked to Highways England corridors that serve Lancashire.

Boost Business Lancashire evolved through partnerships with chambers of commerce including the Chamber of Commerce (UK), trade associations such as the Manufacturers' Organisation and sector bodies like the Federation of Small Businesses. It was periodically reshaped by funding cycles from central initiatives modelled on the Local Growth Fund and influenced by strategies from the Northern Powerhouse agenda and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority neighbourhood interfaces.

Services and Programs

Core services blended intensive advisory support with financial assistance, delivered through collaborations with organisations including Business Gateway-style advisors, regional training providers such as Lancaster University, University of Central Lancashire, and vocational partners like The Manchester College. Programs targeted manufacturers in clusters represented by bodies such as the Engineering Employers' Federation and retail firms connected to the British Retail Consortium supply chains. Offerings included management coaching, digitalisation workshops adapted from frameworks used by Tech Nation, export readiness based on guidelines from UK Export Finance, and productivity audits aligned with Manufacturing Advisory Service methodologies.

Financial support streams ranged from small capital grants akin to those in Growth Hubs to match-funding partnerships operating like European Regional Development Fund schemes, working alongside local regeneration trusts and community development finance institutions similar to Co-operatives UK intermediaries. Networking events facilitated connections to procurement portals used by public bodies including NHS England and local councils, and sector-specific seminars convened with trade unions such as Unite the Union for workforce development. Digital platforms and e-learning modules were modelled after national providers like Coursera and delivered in cooperation with local incubators and accelerators patterned on Tech City UK.

Governance and Funding

Governance arrangements combined oversight by Lancashire County Council committee structures with delivery contracts held by private and third-sector partners including social enterprises and consultancy firms experienced in regional development. Strategic input was obtained from economic partnerships like the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and from parliamentary representatives for constituencies such as Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency) or Lancaster and Fleetwood (UK Parliament constituency). Funding mixes incorporated central allocations reminiscent of Local Growth Fund mechanisms, EU-derived instruments similar to the European Regional Development Fund prior to Brexit, and contributions from local authorities and enterprise sponsors including banks like HSBC and Barclays that partner with business support intermediaries.

Accountability reporting drew on frameworks used by bodies such as the National Audit Office and audit practitioners familiar with public service contracts, while procurement followed standards influenced by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Independent evaluation has been commissioned from academic centres like University of Manchester research groups and regional consultancies.

Impact and Outcomes

Reported outcomes emphasise job creation, business start-ups, productivity improvements and enhanced export activity in Lancashire manufacturing, hospitality, digital and creative clusters. Case studies highlighted firms in towns such as Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble and Fylde that secured capital investment, entered new markets, or adopted digital production technologies. Evaluations paralleled indicators employed by national initiatives like the Growth Hub Network and metrics used by Office for National Statistics subregional datasets to quantify effects on employment rates, gross value added and firm survival.

Partnerships with higher education institutions including Lancaster University and University of Central Lancashire supported graduate enterprise programmes and research commercialisation comparable to technology transfer partnerships observed at University of Manchester or University of Leeds. Networks convened through Boost Business Lancashire strengthened linkages to supply chains for sectors represented by the Automotive Council and the Food and Drink Federation.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques have focused on allocation transparency, the scale and duration of funding, and the measurable long-term impact relative to investment, echoing debates seen around Local Enterprise Partnerships and regional programmes funded by the European Union. Stakeholders have raised concerns similar to controversies involving procurement practices under scrutiny by the National Audit Office and about overlap with services from the Federation of Small Businesses and national growth services like Business Growth Service. Political scrutiny intensified during post-Brexit funding realignments and local election cycles in constituencies such as Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency) and Blackpool North and Cleveleys (UK Parliament constituency), prompting calls for clearer performance data and independent evaluation akin to recommendations made in reports by the Public Accounts Committee.

Category:Organisations based in Lancashire