Devon & Plymouth Chamber of Commerce is delighted to announce that Board Director, Steve Whiteway has been selected to receive a BCA in January 2020. Steve Whiteway,  is to be recognised at the Palace of Westminster with a British Citizen Award in recognition of his extraordinary endeavours. Steve will be honoured for his services to the community with a BCAc, at an official medal presentation being held on 23rd January 2020. To find out more click here

Do you have a fantastic idea but need funding to turn it into a reality? Interreg France (Channel) England offers co-funding  through the European Regional Development Fund for innovative projects that fall within one of five Specific Objectives. We have €68.5m of funding available and are actively looking for organisations with quality project ideas to come forward. Our deadline in 2020 is your last chance to obtain funding, so contact one of our local facilitators now to help you develop your idea and find partners in England or France. Even if you’re in the early stages of a project idea, we’d love to hear from you! To find out more visit:   www.channelmanche.com

This workshop will take place on Thursday 23 January 2020, in Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard, Plymouth. Do you have a creative business or an idea for a new product, service or experience that you’re looking to take to the next level? In conjunction with the iMayflower movement and the Real Ideas Organisation (RIO), Crowdfunder UK will be running a free 2 hour workshop on how to crowdfund within the creative economy.  To find out more click here

Businesses, policymakers and economic stakeholders are invited to gather at the University of Plymouth on Friday 24th January as part of Research Festival 2020. The University of Plymouth is committed to developing industry and business partnerships as part of our 2030 strategy. Using local case studies together with showcasing our resources and solutions for business we will demonstrate the potential for collaboration between academia and business. To find out more click here

Organised by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and The Devon & Plymouth Chamber this event   will showcase the huge opportunity the China market presents, providing practical, straightforward advice and inspiring case studies on how British SMEs can sell to this exciting market. The event will take place on Tuesday, 25 February 2020. To find out more click here

Wavehill are conducting research into the skills needs of businesses (particularly SMEs) and barriers faced in providing training to gather information which will help the Local Enterprise Partnership to shape and deliver their skills strategies.  The research will provide insight to help shape the direction of training provision in the coming years, which will provide a longer term benefit to any businesses locally who recruit. The evidence will also be used to support the Local Enterprise Partnership and their own policies and activities to deliver their strategies. To find out more and take part in this voluntary survey click here

Forum will take place in Plymouth, on Tuesday, 11 February 2020. The Inspire Network brings together leaders of high growth businesses in a unique way to learn from each other and from a wide range of experts. It connects businesses rapidly and efficiently to all the publicly and privately funded sources of support, as well as world class entrepreneurs and commercial experts. To find out more click here 

Outset Enterpise Coaching delivers a full support programme combining modular business workshops, rich online learning resources and 1:1 support. It’s open to all Plymouth residents, and fully funded by Plymouth City Council and the European Regional Development Fund. To  find out more click here

The New Economy Programme – a year of practical one-day workshops and three-day residentials – launched in October 2018 after a crowdfunding campaign to train 1000 people in Bristol, Oxford, London and Dorset. Our 2019-2020 programme is now open for bookings and is relaunching in Plymouth, Bradford, Newcastle, Bristol, London, and Dorset from October 2019 to July 2020.  To find out more click here

This event will take place on Wednesday, 29 January 2020, in Bristol. Take advantage of a day's worth of professional advice for your business or practice by attending this free event provided by the South West Creative Technology Network! To find out more click here 

The British Chambers of Commerce’s Quarterly Economic Survey reveals that the UK ended 2019 in stagnation, amid long term uncertainty, rising business costs and a slowing global economy.  The latest results of the survey – which is the largest of its kind in the UK and a leading indicator of GDP growth - found protracted weakness across most indicators of economic health in the final quarter of 2019. To find out more click here

Mayflower 400 is a year-long national and international commemorative programme incorporating over 100 events around Plymouth to mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s historic voyage from Plymouth to America.  To see all events click here This Land (16th - 20th June 2020) - performed by citizens of Plymouth UK and members of the Wampanoag tribe from Massachussetts USA at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, with text by Nick Stimson and songs written and performed by Seth Lakeman. This Land is the story of what happened then and what it means to us now. To find our more click here   To sign up to Mayflower 400 newsletter click here 

A wealth of fully funded (yes free!), specialist support is available to businesses in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay with aspirations to become the ScaleUp businesses of tomorrow.

We have categorised this support by the main challenges facing ScaleUp and aspiring ScaleUp businesses. To find out more click here

Attending overseas trade shows can promote your business overseas. Exporters can attend TAP's selected events, and get financial support to offset some costs. To find out more click here.

Are you looking for new business premises? Have you outgrown your current premises? PCC’s Economic Development Team has access to a property search tool and is able to produce property reports based on your search criteria. This can give you an insight into market availability and costs and provides contact details for you to follow up with the relevant agent. Contact the team at invest@plymouth.gov.uk for more information. 

We have a lot of useful information on our Invest Plymouth website to guide you in preparing for EU Exit. There is a helpful Government toolkit and latest publications. HMRC latest letter and sector factsheets.

We also have advice from the Growth Hub and EEF - The Manufacturers organisation.To find out more click here

The voucher scheme has been changed from £3,000 to £2,500. If you are a small or medium sized business, you may be able to get a gigabit voucher worth up to £2500 to upgrade your business broadband to a fast and reliable connection over gigabit capable infrastructure. Deadline: March 2021. Find out more click here.

Please visit our Invest Plymouth website for some more exciting business news articles here.

Did you know we are on Linkedin? Join us here for more regular updates.

To find out more about the exciting business events coming up soon click here

Find out more about all the funding options available to your business click here

Winning one of these prestigious awards in front of your industry peers can be a major boost for your company's profile. To find out more click here

To make the process of finding appropriate support easier for businesses in the city, Plymouth City Council Economic Development Service produce and maintain two booklets focussed on helping start ups and existing businesses to find support locally available. Please click here for Existing businesses and click here for Start-ups.

Business help, advice and guidance in growing and exporting your business. To find out more, click here

Free Adult Cycle Training, cycle groups and Walk and Talk. Plymotion is working with companies to promote sustainable travel and encourage staff to be more active on their journey to work. Have a look at our web pages and our latest business newsletter which you can find here.

Please follow this link to find Plymouth City Council owned land and property to rent or buy click here

Address: 34 Mutley Plain, Plymouth, PL4 6LD. Size available: 984 sq ft, rent £14,504.16 per annum.

To find out more contact the agents: Stratton Creber Commercial - Gavin Sagar 01752 907512 Gavins@sccplymouth.co.uk