By design, Growth Hubs are intended to simplify the policy landscape by providing a ‘one stop shop’ of support for any business need. Growth Hubs work across the country with local and national, public and private sector partners, such as business groups, universities, Enterprise Zones and banks, co-ordinating local business support and connecting businesses to the right help for their needs. 

What did Buckinghamshire Business First achieve?

The much-anticipated evaluation report into the impact of Growth Hubs conducted by Technopolis on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (now the Department for Business & Trade (DBT)) has hailed Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF) as amongst the top-performing Growth Hubs in the country.

The evaluation tells a powerful story - a growth of 14% in employment for businesses after year one of engagement with BBF and an average 22% increase after five years. This is compared to no visible change amongst control group businesses.

This performance was aided by the £1.6m Buckinghamshire Recovery Investment Fund, established by Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (Bucks LEP) in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and managed by Buckinghamshire Business First. The Fund created 210 new jobs and brought 74 new products and services to market. Grants paid to local businesses led to 73% of grant recipients securing additional sales and generating increased profits.

The Technopolis evaluation found that 26% of Buckinghamshire businesses were directly supported through the Buckinghamshire Business First Growth Hub, which was far higher than the 8% national average, and dwarfs the 2.5% ambition that BEIS had for Growth Hubs when they came into existence.

This is what Buckinghamshire Business First does

At the heart of everything we do here at Buckinghamshire Business First is creating success for business. If any member of our business community succeeds, we all succeed in our mission of creating a vibrant business community and economy.

So, whether you’re investing time, energy, expertise, or money – the BBF Growth Hub will provide a return on investment!

Engaging with Growth Hubs is proven to benefit businesses

The Technopolis research highlighted the effectiveness of Growth Hub business penetration and how this translated into sustained tangible positive impacts for local businesses. Further analysis revealed positive effects on employment growth and sustained turnover growth for Growth Hub beneficiaries in comparison to those who had not engaged with their local Growth Hub.

Local stakeholders, partners and businesses were clear that the strong reputation and independence of Growth Hubs contributed positively to the development of their local ecosystems, and provided a unique understanding of local needs and strengths that can be fed back into national policy design.

Andrew M. Smith, Chair of Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted our Growth Hub, Buckinghamshire Business First, and the associated success of our Buckinghamshire Recovery Investment Fund, have had such an impact in supporting local businesses to recover and grow. We are proud to be recognised nationally, clearly highlighting how effective our business support is and its positive impact.”

Philippa Batting Managing Director of Buckinghamshire Business First, said: “This research clearly highlights the real value of the 38 Growth Hubs across the country and in particular the positive impact Buckinghamshire Business First has had in supporting local businesses to develop and grow through particularly challenging economic times - marking us out as one of the best in class. Businesses benefit hugely from having the team at Buckinghamshire Business First to help them identify any support that is available for their business.”

Access the full report on the evaluation of Growth Hubs between 2015 and 2020 >