 Our Business Support team have announced a new programme of face-to-face events across the city for small businesses throughout January, February and March. The team will be on hand to offer the latest information on available funding, start-up and growth programmes, data and skills development.
This programme features weekly 1:2:1 support drop-in sessions and two dedicated Crowdfunder funding sessions to learn more about how to access the Portsmouth Small Business fund which supports new business start-ups and existing small businesses to grow.
 The current Energy Bill Relief Scheme will run until 31 March 2023. After then support for businesses with energy bills will be scaled back. Under this new scheme which starts in April, business will get a discount on gas and electricity unit prices rather than costs being capped as under the current scheme. Business will benefit from the scheme when energy bills are high.
The new scheme will run until the end of March 2024 and as with the current scheme, suppliers will automatically apply reductions.
 A 200-suite hotel earmarked for the former Post Office in Portsmouth's city centre has secured planning approval.
The ground floor would contain an entrance lobby, main reception area meeting area, seated food and food preparation area, reception office, luggage store, laundry room, refuse and cycle store. A gym is also planned. The development proposal is contained within the footprint of the existing office block, with an additional two storeys proposed.
 Team at The Learning Place
Portsmouth's Aspirations Week returns next week packed with ideas and practical sessions to develop lifelong learning and new skills to reach personal goals. Sessions range from improving maths and IT skills, CV writing, undertaking apprenticeships or becoming a volunteer and crowdfunding to support a new business idea.
Many of our events take place at The Learning Place, North End which offers adult learning courses based around community and family learning as well as courses in English, Mathematics and English for speakers of other languages.
 We're here to help business through these challenging times. Small Business Britain and TSB have a new online event for small business that will share how businesses have managed the challenges of the last few years and how they are looking to the future and thinking about growth.
The event will cover
- Tips on growing as a small business
- Steps that have been taken by business to survive
- Vital adaptions ("pivots") made by businesses
- Available support that can really make a difference
- How you can maintain confidence in your business even in a difficult climate
23 January at 10:00am online
 Lakeside has secured three new lettings reflecting the growing demand for office space. The new occupants include children's services charity Fair Ways, Equitix and BTS. These companies join a varied group of existing tenants that includes IBM, Virgin Media, Capita and AT&T.
Fair Ways, which moved to Lakeside in early 2021, has signed a new deal for a larger office of 3,420 sq ft to accommodate its growth. Leading global investor, Equitix, has taken 1,182 sq ft of space, while BTS, an innovative consultancy specialising in the people side of strategy, has leased a 4,825 sq ft office.
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