Local Factsheet - St Helens

The Local Growth Hub provides guidance to businesses to help them navigate through the range of business support available across Liverpool City Region. The service can be accessed through www.growthplatform.org which also provides other information such as sector information and support, skills support, inward investment support, news and events, current tender opportunities and signposting to the most appropriate
assistance from a range of commercial and publicly funded services. The Local Growth Hub directs businesses to our ‘Business Support Service’ which is managed by our 6 LA’s and delivered by a range of local business support partners who can also provide online and face to face advice and guidance. There is also specific support for hard to reach groups such as social enterprises, women in business, disabled entrepreneurs
and BAME community.

Eligibility: Available for all stages of business including businesses not yet trading.

Website: https://growthplatform.org/

Programmes: https://growthplatform.org/programmes/

Tel: You can find details of your local growth hub broker here: https://growthplatform.org/regional-support-partners/

E-mail: localgrowthhub@liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk

St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council provides a signposting service to information on licensing, commercial land and property, health and safety, business rates and environmental health. They also have a Trading Standards service which offers impartial advice for businesses in St Helens.

Eligibility: Available for all stages of business including businesses not yet trading.

Website: https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/1699/Business-and-investment 

General Tel: 01744 676 789

Business Rates:
E-mail: businessrates@sthelensc.gov.uk

Trading Standards
E-mail: tradingstandards@sthelensc.gov.uk

Fully-funded Business Support for established businesses and start-ups in St Helens. This support programme has two strands of support for Start-ups businesses and established businesses looking to grow.

Start-up Support

You will be provided with a dedicated advisor that will be able to support you with a range of 1-2-1 sessions and workshops, covering topics such as:

- Mindset & Resilience – what makes a successful entrepreneur
- Marketing & Planning
- Finance, Raising & Growing Funds
- Networking and connections

Advisors will work with you to develop a bespoke action plan, and provide practical tips and advice in order to help you make the leap.

Current business owners

If you have an established business, a team experienced business advisors will work with you to understand your specific business goals and objectives and develop a tailored action plan to help you achieve them.

In addition,  a range of specialist workshops are available, topics include:

- Business growth
- Sales and marketing
- Innovation
- Management and leadership

Eligibility: Both strands are designed to support businesses of any age including pre-starts and sector in St Helens.

Website: https://www.growthco.uk/what-we-do/business/st-helens-business-support/

Advice and support for people wishing to set up a business in the Liverpool City Region area.

EDT also offers a programme to help create and support third sector organisations with a focus on business planning and fundraising. Low cost retail units are also provided with easy-in, easy-out terms for tenants.

Eligibility: Available for businesses and social enterprises at all stages including business/social enterprises not yet trading.

Website: http://www.edt.org.uk/

Tel: 0151 298 2478

E-mail: info@edt.org.uk

A programme offering export support to established or new to export business.

The programme aims to connect businesses to the broader local regional and national export support ecosystem. Business will benefit from using a Business Diagnostic tool which will result in an export action plan, this will identify barriers, market opportunities, research needs and export funding requirements. Companies with funding requirements will be referred to the Business Growth Team for consideration for export grants that might be available.

Eligibility: Available for trading businesses who are new to exporting, or businesses who are looking to expand their export activities. 

Website: https://growthplatform.org/exporting-for-business/

Liverpool Libraries offer a range of services in how to start a business, including online courses, events, Intellectual Property drop-in clinics and advice and support through the Merseyside Enterprise Hub programme.

Also provide intellectual property information, access to market research/business intelligence, company reports, and British Standards.

Eligibility: Available for all businesses including businesses not yet trading.

Website: https://liverpool.gov.uk/bipc

Central Library Tel: 0151 233 3069 or 0151 233 5835

E-mail: libraries.enquiries@liverpool.gov.uk

A not-for-profit, police led partnership which provides affordable and professional cyber security services to small businesses. They offer a free membership to businesses which gives you access to tools and resources to identify your cyber security risks and vulnerabilities, as well as guidance on how to increase your levels of protection. 

Eligibility: Available to all stages of business. 

Website: https://www.nwcrc.co.uk/  

Email: info@nwcrc.co.uk  

Are you looking to start up or relocate your business to Liverpool?

Invest Liverpool provides dedicated support to encourage businesses to relocate to the area, including advice on commercial property, introduction to business networks, assistance with staff recruitment and training, business intelligence, and signposting to support and funding.

Eligibility: Available to all businesses including businesses not yet trading.

Website: https://investliverpool.com/

Tel: 07715 123 483

E-mail: investliverpool@liverpool.gov.uk

The Women's Organisation offers free advice and support to help businesses in the Liverpool City Region area to expand and grow. Support includes help to review your business plan and strategy, understanding how to take on your first staff, reviewing pricing, helping with your marketing strategy, a review your finances and access to funding.

Eligibility: Available for all stages of business including businesses not yet trading.

Website: http://www.thewomensorganisation.org.uk/projects-and-partnerships/enterprise-hub-new-start-business-support-

Enterprise Hub Team Tel: 0151 706 8113

E-mail: enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk

A programme for manufacturing companies in the North West of England. Made Smarter is designed to help accelerate growth through access to a range of support.

This includes advice from digital specialists with a fully funded assessment and digital roadmap for your business, help with your strategy to implement new technologies, leadership development, access to digital skills resources and workshops, support for technological innovations, plus up to £20,000 (50% match-funding) towards the purchase of hardware and software.

To find out more and make an enquiry, visit the website.

Eligibility: Manufacturing businesses that have begun trading and are looking to grow.

Website: https://www.madesmarter.uk/adoption/in-my-region/north-west/

Innovate UK Business Growth (was Innovate UK EDGE) is a key part of the UK innovation agency’s investment in the innovative businesses that drive economic growth. It provides intensive, specialist-led support to ambitious innovation-led businesses to help them grow and scale.

Each high-potential, innovative business is supported by a dedicated innovation & growth specialist local to them. The specialist will consider a business in the round and, working closely with its leadership, identify the most productive ways to accelerate its growth. This could be by working on the core business plan and value proposition or through exploiting innovation, accessing funding and finance, and/or expanding into new markets.

In particular, the specialists can help companies to develop an innovation-driven business plan; understand how to protect and create value from their intellectual property; develop a strategy to fund and finance their innovation, growth and be investment ready; connect to new partners for commercial, technology and R&D collaborations; and discover opportunities in overseas markets learning how to capitalise on them.

Innovate UK Business Growth  also offer the Scaleup Programme for enhanced support, the Global Incubator Programme and the Global Business Innovation Programme.

Eligibility: Available for businesses that have begun trading (innovative businesses, looking to grow and scale their business in the UK market and internationally) with up to 500 employees (250 in Northern Ireland). It is not suitable for pre-starts, or for those businesses who have no ambition to grow through innovation or internationalisation.

Website: https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/business-growth/

Online Contact Form: https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/business-growth-contact/ 

Tel: 0300 123 3066  (National Gateway)

A workshop programme running from October 2024 to March 2025. Offering businesses in the Liverpool City Region an introduction to tendering giving businesses the skills to respond to tenders and where to source opportunities.

Eligibility: Trading businesses in the Liverpool City Region.

Website: https://growthplatform.org/supplier-procurement-toolkit/

Do you need legal advice? Lawyers for your business is a scheme offering a free half-hour consultation with a member of the Law Society.

The lawyer will not be able to deal with existing legal issues but can help with general legal enquiries about starting a business, employing people, contracts with customers and suppliers, taking on leased premises, business structures, health and safety and raising finance. When contacting a solicitor for a 30-minute free consultation you must advise you are calling regarding the Lawyers for your business scheme and use the named contact on the sheet sent to you from the service.

Eligibility: Available for businesses trading up to 12 months including businesses not yet trading.

Website: https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

Tel: 020 7320 5650 - If you need help with using the find a solicitor section, Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm

E-mail: lfyb@lawsociety.org.uk - please include postcode or town/city in the e-mail.

For solicitors interested in joining the LFYB scheme
https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/career-advice/individual-accreditations/lawyers-for-your-business

LYVA Labs provides support for ideas and technologies being developed across the Liverpool City Region. Investment packages between £25,000 and £250,000 for innovators in the health and life sciences sector. This funding is intended to provide start-up support alongside commercial advice to help to develop innovative ideas that could improve the region’s health outcomes. 

Eligibility: Available to all stages of business in the health and life sciences sector, with an innovative idea for a product/service that has not yet been commercialised.  

Website: https://lyvalabs.com/about/ 

Email: enquiries@lyvalabs.com  

LCEI offers grant funding via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to support Liverpool City Region businesses to adopt and implement new low carbon technologies to decarbonise and reduce their carbon footprint.

Capital grants of up to £20,000 are available, which must be matched by a minimum 50% contribution from the business. Businesses must show how the purchase will benefit them commercially and environmentally.

Examples include:

- PV panels
- Green energy lighting/heating solutions
- Energy efficient machinery/equipment
- Renewable energy technologies

Eligibility: Available for trading businesses in the Liverpool City Region. Full eligibility criteria can be found here

Website: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/microsites/low-carbon-eco-innovatory/lcei-grant-scheme

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund 2 offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans and debt finance from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million. 

The loans they currently provide are listed below:

Smaller loans - Small business loans from £25,000 - £100,000

Debt finance - Business loans from £100,000 - £2,000,000

Equity finance - Early stage or late stage equity funding up to £5,000,000

Eligibility: Available for businesses that have begun trading (with growth potential).

Website: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/nations-and-regions-investment-funds/northern-powerhouse-investment-fund-ii-npif-ii/

The LCR Finance Hub is a free gateway for SMEs wishing to access external funding, with the aim of making the whole process less confusing. The LCR Finance Hub is powered by the Liverpool City Region – Growth Platform and MSIF, supporting SMEs that may need financial support, their propositions are not ready to pitch to the potential funding sources.

LCR Finance Hub will create an individually tailored package to suit the requirements of each unique company. The package aims to make the proposition ready for the external funding the SME requires.

The package may include many services, including:

• An assessment of the SMEs financial position and funding requirements
• Appraisal of the business plan, including help with financial forecasts and other supporting information
• Identification and explanation of the finance products that could help your business
• Coaching and mentoring, helping you to develop your investment proposition and ensuring you are pitch ready
• Introductions to suitable finance providers
• Introductions to other business support and financial service providers
• Support at meetings with lenders and investors

If you are trying to access funding and feel you need help, contact us and let us know more about your situation and we’ll try our best to assist you.

Eligibility: This service is aimed at SMEs within the Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas that are not in a position to pay for this kind of support.

Website: https://www.lcrfinancehub.co.uk/

E-mail: info@lcrfinancehub.co.uk

If you are looking for funding then Key Fund may be able to help.

Providing tailored grants and loans to support the development and growth of new and existing social enterprise activity in the North of England. Funding can be used to support revenue or capital costs, including bridging facilities, capital purchases, cashflow, refurbishment costs, running costs, set-up costs, and wages.

They also deliver bespoke workshops and one-to-one support.

Eligibility: Available for businesses that have begun trading but you must be a registered/incorporated company providing positive social or environmental impact. The fund can not support sole traders or partnerships of individuals. Applicants must have already approached a commercial lender and been refused, prior to submitting a proposal.

Website: https://thekeyfund.co.uk/

Tel: 0330 202 0559

Email: info@thekeyfund.co.uk 

St Helens Metropolitan Borough council
Information on the current contract and tender opportunities from St Helens Metropolitan Borough council
https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/4014/Become-a-supplier

The Chest North West
Public Sector procurement portal for clients looking to supply to Local Authorities in the North West.
https://www.the-chest.org.uk/
For supplier help e-mail: ProContractSuppliers@proactis.com

Growth Platform - Liverpool City Region Growth Hub Events
Business Events, networking and webinars in the Liverpool City Region.
https://growthplatform.org/events/

Liverpool and Sefton Chambers of Commerce
Business events from the Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/events.aspx


Institute of Directors (IoD) North West
Events and networking opportunities for company directors.
https://www.iod.com/events-community/regions/north-west/events

Federation of Small Businesses
virtual events, including networking and business surgeries designed to help you find advice, support and guidance.
https://www.fsb.org.uk/event-calendar.html

BNI Merseyside
You can search for your nearest chapter.
http://bnimerseyside.com/en-GB/index

The Women's Organisation (Merseyside & Greater Manchester)
Business training, career development, personal development and other business events.
https://www.thewomensorganisation.org.uk/events/

Forward Ladies
Women's networking and business support organisation offering training and networking events in the North West of England. Fees apply.
https://www.wearenovi.com/ 

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
Events calendar for UK based businesses.
https://www.fsb.org.uk/event-calendar.html

St Helens Council
Land and property available for sale or to let.
Website: https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/6487/Property-Services