Lancashire Growth Hub pulse | October 2025

As part of its role as a Growth Hub, each month Boost works closely with the county’s business support providers, private sector leaders, trade bodies and local authorities to collate a monthly insight report on economic conditions, trends, emerging opportunities, and to understand business needs across Lancashire. 

Alongside 40 other UK Growth Hubs, these insights are collated into an intelligence report and shared with our colleagues at central government to help inform national policy and support. 

The Lancashire Growth Hub Pulse, written by Andrew Leeming, programme manager at Boost, brings together these insights into a monthly snapshot, celebrating successes, flagging concerns and outlining the challenges that matter the most to Lancashire’s businesses.

Lancashire’s transition and tenacity 

As autumn deepens, the latest Growth Hub intelligence report paints a picture of a county alive with innovation and regeneration but facing persistent challenges in skills, funding and long-term confidence. It is a story of a region adapting tenaciously, with ambition and uncertainty in equal measures. 

Innovation and on… 

Lancashire’s innovation and spirit continues to impress. It’s our job as a Growth Hub to ensure SMEs don’t innovate in isolation, making them aware of our universities, clusters and other support assets around them. The University of Lancashire is playing a key role through its Engineering Innovation Centre and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs). 

Businesses like Brookhouse Aerospace, investing in advanced CNC machinery and participating in the Bullfrog AI project, demonstrate how innovation, funding and strategic partnerships can come together to create momentum. 

Great ideas can continue to scale county-wide if more SMEs can connect to these innovation pipelines.  

Bridging the skills divide 

Skills gaps continue to dominate conversations. Emerging sectors such as modular construction, low-carbon technology and advanced manufacturing are growing fast, with local education and training providers still catching up. Businesses like Moduliv, leading the way in modular housing innovation, report ongoing difficulty in finding skilled workers locally. 

Amid the challenge, there are bright spots. The East Lancashire Learning Group (ELLG) has rebranded and expanded its Industry Innovation Hubs, embedding real-world learning into its curriculum. Its new cyber security lab and simulated hospital ward exemplify employer-led training design. The model is a skills system shaped by business, something the county has the potential to lead the way in. 

Place-based growth 

Regeneration continues apace throughout the county. Skelmersdale is a highlight. Its £20m Pride in Place programme is setting the stage for long-term transformation, targeting communities with high deprivation and low business density. West Lancashire Borough Council is leading from the front with innovation workshops, grant and startup support, and the Skelmersdale Ambassadors network is thriving. 

In Preston, the recent reopening of the Harris Museum, following its £19m refurb, is a perfect example of the power of public and private sector partnerships. This project is part of Preston’s Town Deal, led by Preston Partnership, a private sector-led group working closely with the public sector. The Town Deal has unlocked the £200m Harris Quarter regeneration programme. Local SMEs are seizing the opportunity, investing in new and enhances businesses to capitalise on renewed city confidence.

Funding: a mixed picture 

Access to finance remains a complex issue. Venture capital funding has tightened, with investors raising thresholds and slowing deal flow. For many early-stage founders, this has made growth finance harder to secure.  

However, angel investment is filling some of that gap. Networks such as Lancashire’s County Council’s very own Fhunded Angels are increasingly active. It hosted its second Lancashire Angels Dinner this month, surfacing a new wave of founders. 

Refinancing has also emerged as a strategic lever for SMEs. By consolidating short-term debt into longer-term facilities, businesses are improving cashflow, stability and operational confidence. The work of Rosebud illustrates how financial restructuring can act as a springboard for future growth rather than a short-term fix.

Boost’s collaboration with Rosebud during Business Finance Week included a roundtable that highlighted the importance of real relationships between the lending and business support community and businesses. Read it here. 

Big challenges are here. But so is help

As we all know, it’s not all plain sailing. Business closures continue to dominate headlines, Bodycare being a sobering reminder of the pressures firms face. Recruitment is challenging, especially in hospitality and technical roles. Late payments, rising costs and policy uncertainty are making it harder to plan ahead with confidence. 

But Lancashire has one of the best business support communities. Boost and our partners at Rosebud, Chambers of Commerce and other local authorities, are seeing increased engagement from businesses looking for support. During September, the Boost Business Support Helpdesk recorded 34 startup enquiries. That shows entrepreneurial spirit in flow. 

Boost also launched a new Retail Renaissance Programme in September in response to the pressures facing the high street, an important part of our communities. 

County-wide initiatives such as Skills Bootcamps and the Lancashire Apprenticeship Incentive are showing real outcomes, with Burnley Business Week drawing in 550 bookings. September also saw the ‘best of 25’ crowned at the BIBAs, run by the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. Whether growing or adapting, every business can benefit from support. Our website and helpdesk are here to guide you through what is available. 

Looking ahead

Beneath the challenges lie deep reserves of skill, support and energy. Through Boost and many other partners, the business support community is calling on entrepreneurs, leaders and decision-makers to work together to tackle short-term challenges and sustainable opportunities.