Forest of Dean Growth Hub will give major boost to small and growing businesses' ambitions

By Nicky Godding

8 October 2021

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The Forest of Dean Growth Hub, funded by GFirstLEP, in Vantage Business Park, Mitcheldean,. 27 September 2021 Picture by Andrew Higgins/Thousand Word Media NO SALES, NO SYNDICATION. Contact for more information mob: 07775556610 web: www.thousandwordmedia.com email: [email protected] The photographic copyright (©2021) is exclusively retained by the works creator at all times and sales, syndication or offering the work for future publication to a third party without the photographer's knowledge or agreement is in breach of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, (Part 1, Section 4, 2b). Please contact the photographer should you have any questions with regard to the use of the attached work and any rights involved.

A new Forest of Dean Growth Hub will give local businesses a new and big opportunity to thrive and grow.

Local MP, Mark Harper will join Chief Executive of GFirst LEP, David Owen, and Managing Director of BMJ International Ltd, Kevan Spencer, to officially open the new site with the cutting of a ribbon.

The Forest of Dean is the latest location to join The Growth Hub Network, a GFirst LEP flagship project, which includes Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Stroud and Cirencester. Located at Vantage Point Business Village in Mitcheldean, The Growth Hub, Forest of Dean is the first port of call for local businesses looking to grow.

The aim of The Growth Hub is to break down barriers to growth with experts on-hand to consult, connect and collaborate. Offering bespoke business support through one-to-one sessions, sector-specific events run by local experts, workshops and networking opportunities, there’s something for all Gloucestershire SMEs. Business Navigators and Guides will listen to priorities and challenges in order to offer solutions to help businesses develop and grow.

As well as offering free business support and events, The Growth Hub, Forest of Dean boasts an impressive modern workspace. The new Growth Hub is home to spaces for incubation offices, co-working, hot desking and breakout areas, providing the ideal base for SMEs of all sizes. Work from The Growth Hub, Forest of Dean from as little as £15 with a range of memberships suited to those looking for more permanent workspace solutions.

Designed to serve the needs of the local business community, The Growth Hub, Forest of Dean invites all Gloucestershire SMEs to take advantage of the knowledge, advice and tailored services available, and join the 26,000 other growing businesses in the county who are adding to the sustainable growth of Gloucestershire’s economy. Tom El-Shawk, Business Navigator, and Freya Lake, Business Host, look forward to welcoming you.

Freya Lake, Business Host at The Growth Hub, Forest of Dean commented: “There is nothing like The Growth Hub in the Forest of Dean currently. It’s a brilliant resource for all small and medium-sized businesses to use. When businesses come to The Growth Hub, they can expect free business support, help with their business plans and they can even use The Growth Hub as a space to grow their business. There is so much flexibility for how businesses can use and benefit from the working space at The Growth Hub. Whether a business owner needs a quiet place to focus or they need a large meeting room to host an important event, we are here to help.”

Tom El-Shawk, Business Navigator at The Growth Hub, Forest of Dean commented: “If I were looking to grow my business, where or who would I turn to? The answer is The Growth Hub. A place where you can get specialist advice, receive the help you need, and have access to resources you didn’t know existed. It’s an incredible project to be a part of. I look forward to welcoming you.”

Sarah Danson, Director of Strategic Growth at GFirst LEP, said: “There are countless exceptional businesses in the Forest of Dean so to be able to provide The Growth Hub as a place where they can come together, grow and thrive is really exciting. The Forest of Dean is very much open for business.”

The Growth Hub is a Gloucestershire-wide network of business centres, where businesses can get free help and support to help them grow. As well as direct consultancy and advice, The Growth Hub also offers online events and workshops.

All of its business support is completely free-of-charge. The hubs are funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Each Growth Hub has a selection of meeting rooms available for growing businesses to use. Whether these be intimate spaces for a 1-to-1 or interview, an AV room for conference or video calls, or a larger office for board meetings. Some Growth Hubs offer these rooms for free, some of them are rented by the hour, half-day, or day.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.