Provision of Business Advice - Blackpool Business Growth Academy (Shared Prosperity Fund)

In April 2022, the Business Growth Team was allocated funding from the government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to deliver a series of capital and revenue projects under the themes of people and skills, supporting local businesses, and community and place. The schemes will provide a wide range of support from physical town centre regeneration, through to direct business support, encouraging existing and new business development. £1.2 million has been allocated to supporting local businesses through a variety of schemes, including enhanced business support to increase entrepreneur and business engagement. The council will administer the projects and some will be delivered through a variety of external organisations and commissioning arrangements like this. Blackpool Council’s Business Growth Team (BGT) is seeking proposals from interested and qualified organisations to deliver the Business Support element of its services. The BGT delivers a range of business support services to contribute to the economic regeneration of Blackpool. The Business Support Element services are currently divided into two main elements • Start-up business support providing workshops and masterclasses on key topics as well as 1-2-1 mentoring support for those considering starting a business, with a focus on those in the first three years of operation. • Growth business support aiming to provide support to more established businesses, assisting them to develop and implement growth plans leading to investment and job creation. Additional information: The contract was awarded for an initial term of 18 months which is the guaranteed funding period with a fixed contract value of £400,000. There is an option to extend incrementally for a further 36 months should further funding be made available after this date and this has therefore, been reflected in the potential contract value of £1,000,000.