Want to grow your business?

Looking to invest in your employee’s skills or get training support to help you develop?

Come and join Worcestershire Growth Hub to find out the latest business grants and support on offer to Worcestershire’s businesses.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund investment from local government provides a range of support to businesses in Worcestershire to help with growth, skills and recruitment, and business support.

To find out more about what is on offer, please attend the FREE UKSPF event on 14 March 2024 at the Abbey Hotel in Great Malvern. 

Your business could be crowned Business of the Year as entries for the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Business Awards are now open. Submitting your entry is quick and easy and you can enter up to 3 categories. 

The awards will be hosted on 13 June 2024 at Worcester Arena and there are a total of 15 awards categories such as Best Use of Technology and Trends and Commitment to the Community. 

Entries are being accepted until 4pm on 18 March 2024. 

This year marks 10 years since the Worcestershire Apprenticeships programme was founded in 2014. Over the past 10 years of promoting apprenticeships the Apprenticeship Awards has been a flagship event to highlight the achievements of apprentices and employers.  

Nominations for the 2024 awards are now open with apprentices, employers, schools, and training providers in Worcestershire able to submit their entries or nominations online. The deadline for submissions is 19 July 2024.

New DRT busses are now operating around Upton upon Severn and the surrounding rural areas like Hanley Castle, Hanley Swan, Welland and Kempsey.

The Demand Responsive Transport service also offers transport to a variety of ‘Points of Interest’ both inside and outside of the zone including Great Malvern Town and train station.

The service is delivered through an app or via phone call where rides can be requested by passengers who are then quickly collected from a close by pick up point. Operating between 7am until 7pm Monday to Saturday.

There’s a flat fare of £2.50 for all journeys per person, with additional passengers paying £1.25 and ticket bundles available as well as concessionary cards being accepted.

Print out this poster and share with your staff: DRT Poster.

Worcestershire Country Council have partnered with Optima UK Ltd to bring you a new workplace health programme 'Work Well Live Better'.

The key focus is to support workplaces across Worcestershire to improve the health and wellbeing of their employees by taking a preventative approach. By being part of the Workplace Wellbeing Network businesses will gain access to valuable resources; including training, events, and peer support. This will enable businesses to take meaningful steps towards improving employee health and wellbeing and showcase their commitment.

Visit the link below to have a look around the website and to join the network, or contact workwelllivebetter@optima-uk.com

Come and be a part of the Great Malvern Food Festival which will take place 6 & 7 July 2024 to raise awareness of your business.

• Overall sponsor of the Great Malvern Food Festival
• Sponsor the Priory Park Bandstand
• Sponsor the Festival Cookery Demo Marquee
• Host a cookery demo in the Cookery Demo marquee
• Host a masterclass or tasting in the Cookery Demo marquee
• Host a foodie event at your business to be included in the Food Festival programme
• Provide a promotional offer to encourage footfall to your business

Please contact Victoria Carman: victoria.carman@malvernhills.gov.uk to find out more information.

Crowdfund Malvern Hills gives local people the opportunity to create and deliver projects that aim to enhance the district. The following projects could get off the ground with your support: 

• Children's Disability Football Malvern - Newtown CP and PAN Disability are looking to expand the football coaching sessions they offer to children with complex needs or disabilities. 
• Food, Fun & Friendship in Tenbury Wells - A new friendship and lunch club for those who are socially isolated.
• Supporting homeless people in Malvern - Outreach workers to support homeless people into accessing services. 

Grant funding is available to help Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to implement energy saving initiatives including LED lighting, heating and insulation and renewables. The initiative aims to support SMEs to make the transition towards a sustainable and low-carbon future. Malvern Hills businesses can apply for between £1,000 and £8,000.

Grants are awarded on a match-funded basis, meaning the SME will need to provide at least 60% of the total cost of the project.

Net Zero Worcestershire also offers free Decarbonisation Reviews.

Net Zero Worcestershire is one of the new business support programmes part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Malvern Hills District Council and Worcestershire County Council.

The Innovation Worcestershire Grant offers funding to help Small to Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) businesses develop innovative products and processes.

Malvern Hills businesses can apply for between £1,000 and £15,000. Grants will be awarded on a match-funded basis, meaning the SME will need to provide at least 60% of the total cost of the project.

Innovation Worcestershire will also offer bespoke support to help Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) develop new innovative processes, products, technologies and services.

Innovation Worcestershire is one of the new business support programmes part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Malvern Hills District Council and Worcestershire County Council.

So far we have funded 16 Town centre Support grants equating to £27,844.

We have £16,000 in the pipeline but funds are still available.

Eligible businesses can apply for a 50% match-funded grant of up to £2500 towards one, or a combination, of the following grants:

Shop front Improvements – Undertaking works to improve or refurbish the shop front or internal structural improvements.

Empty Shop Support - Support to bring an empty shop back into commercial use including support for equipment, anything external or internal premises related

Town Centre Boost - An additional £1000 grant is available to traders or community groups to deliver town centre wide projects and promotions to drive new footfall, investment, or sustainability (there is no match funding requirement associated with this grant).

If you would like to apply for a grant visit the website below: 

Pictured: Hillbillys Café 

Malvern Hills Businesses continue to benefit the Malvern Hills Upskilling Grant. 

The grant scheme provides funding of up to £1,500 to help with the business cost of training new staff (i.e. apprenticeships, trainee or other). In order to qualify businesses must be based in the Malvern Hills district postcode area, employ fewer than 250 people and pay at least the Minimum Wage to the trainee for a post of at least 30 hrs a week including training leading to a recognised qualification.

£500 is available to trainees and apprentices to help cover the cost of travel, equipment, tools and clothing necessary to access training.

The support is available to residents of Malvern Hills District who:

• Earn less than £220 per week.
• Attend a qualifying course.
• Are employed for a post of 30 hours a week for a minimum of 12 months.

Please spread the word that this support is available. 

Spacehive Crowdfunding with support from the Malvern Hills District Council will be hosting an information workshop on Monday the 5 March 12pm-12pm. This session will clarify the whole process of crowdfunding for project creators, as well as how to appeal specifically to the Malvern Hills District Council’s Connected Communities fund - which offers projects up to 50% of the targeted funding with a cap of £50,000 for eligible projects.

If you have a project that would benefit the local environment, residents or economy feel free to sign up to this session with the link below, or alternately if you don’t have an idea, but you are aware of someone who does, please share this post and link as far and wide as possible within the Malvern Hills District.

The Hereford & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Business Expo is back on Wednesday 7 March. The Expo is free to attend and includes stalls from 120+ business across the two counties. 

The day includes the popular Food & Drink Zone, scheduled seminars, Health & Wellbeing Zone, Networking Zone, networking sessions and food from Beefy Boys and Divine Doughnuts. 

Worcestershire County Council invites you to attend their Innovation and Technology conference, featuring industry experts and local businesses, on 13 March, at Sixways Stadium Worcester. This is a golden opportunity to gain insights, be inspired by the latest thinking, and network with like-minded professionals.

Register for your free spot using the link below:

Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and Worcestershire Growth Hub have collaborated on a series of seminars that seek to champion inclusive employment practices. 

The final free seminar is on the topic:  

Workplace Wellbeing - 13 March 2024

BIPC Worcestershire has plenty of support and webinars for businesses of any size, follow the link below for the full programme. 

• Join the Malvern Library Business Breakfast from 8am followed by the Business Support Drop-in Clinic from 10am on 14 March 2024.
• Ignite: Celebrating Women in Business Panel Discussion - 20 March 2024.
• How to Use Social Media with Ben Newell - 22 March 2024.