270 businesses supported by London South Bank University to increase earnings
New figures show the number of businesses supported by the Help to Grow programme run by London South Bank University (LSBU) has increased by 73% over the past seven months (from 156 in August 2022 to 270 in March 2023).New figures show the number of businesses supported by the Help to Grow programme run by London South Bank University (LSBU) has increased by 73% over the past seven months (from 156 in August 2022 to 270 in March 2023). The LSBU Help to Grow programme has supported hundreds of small and medium sized businesses to face major challenges including soaring energy prices and rising interest rates through:
- Financial Management, Leadership and Digital skills training
- Personalised support to develop tailored growth plans to enable them to increase their earnings, revenue and profits.
Business who have received support from LSBU’s Help to Grow programme since October 2021 include:
- Jim & Tonic run a distillery bar in Stratford and produce award-winning bespoke, sustainable & branded gins and were trained by the LSBU Help to Grow programme in November 2022
- Studio Manifest, an architecture business based in Borough whose founder joined the LSBU Help to Grow programme in 2022 and then led the company to more than double its revenue.
- Thomas Sinden, an award-winning construction services provider based in Harold Wood, and were trained by the LSBU Help to Grow programme in 2022.
Ben Powell, Founder and Director of Studio Manifest, said, “The Help to Grow Programme at LSBU helped us to better structure our creative process, which has allowed us to innovative our service delivery and the way we market this to clients. It gave my business a turbo injection at a hugely critical time.”
Matthew Warren, Chief Operating Officer of Jim & Tonic, said, “We found the Help to Grow training from LSBU really helpful in the growth of our gin distillery business, Jim and Tonic. We will be using what we learnt to develop our online delivery of our award-winning gin products and our newly opened distillery, bar and restaurant in Stratford.”
Graeme Sinden, Managing Director of Thomas Sinden, award winning construction services provider in Harold Wood, said, “The Help to Grow course at LSBU was slick and well delivered thanks to the high standard of lecturers and facilitators. In addition, the online content and material were very well developed. In summary, LSBU ‘knocked it out of the Park’' !”
Professor David Phoenix, Vice Chancellor of LSBU, said, “The advice and training LSBU has given to 270 businesses across London and Southern England will give them chance to develop and grow. Industry experts from LSBU Business School helped small and medium sized businesses like Jim & Tonic in Stratford and Thomas Sinden in Harold Wood to develop tailored growth plans which will enable them to increase their earnings, revenue and profits. Since the founder of Studio Manifest in Southwark joined the LSBU Help to Grow programme in January 2022 he led the company to more than double its revenue. There isn’t a better example of the impact of the personalised training and support by industry experts from LSBU Business School. Our LSBU Help to Grow business support training programme demonstrates our university’s commitment to have positive real-world impact on people’s lives.”
The LSBU Help to Grow programme was launched in October 2021 and by August 2022 156 businesses had received personalised training. By March 2023 270 businesses had received personalised training from the LSBU Help to Grow programme. Help to Grow is a government funded business support initiative that enables industry experts from LSBU’s Business School to run 12-week intensive support programmes.