Businesses across Cumbria have the chance to grow their companies through a specially-designed programme starting this autumn.

The Cumbria Forum, run by Lancaster University Management School, will help 90 SMEs in the county.

New funding of £1 million from the European Regional Development Fund, as part of Cumbria Business Growth Hub, will see LUMS deliver a programme of activity including interactive workshops and masterclasses until December 2021.

One of the key elements is a six-month business growth programme.

The programme is designed to provide an opportunity for owner-managers of Cumbria SMEs to step away from their businesses and develop themselves with help from peers as well as academics from LUMS and other business experts.

Ewan Pullan, LUMS programme manager for the Cumbria Forum, said: “The programme has already helped dozens of Cumbrian businesses grow and develop, as a result boosting the county’s economy.

“We would encourage small and medium-sized companies from all sectors of the Cumbrian economy to become involved and take advantage of this excellent programme.”

The university says the most recent Cumbria Forum helped 75 businesses and aided the creation of 38 new jobs and 18 new products and services.

The next one will start in November.

People interested in the next programme can meet the Cumbria Forum team at an event at North Lakes Hotel and Spa, Penrith, on Tuesday, September 17, starting at 5.30pm.

The event includes a masterclass talk with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, a former TV producer and director with the BBC – credited with bringing the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Antony Worrall-Thompson to the screen – who launched The Black Farmer food label inspired by his farm in Devon.

Anyone interested in attending can register at: https://lums-wilfred-emmanuel-jones.eventbrite.co.uk

For further information on the Cumbria Forum, contact Pete Cornwall on 01524 593679 or email cumbriaforum@lancaster.ac.uk