Lancashire Growth Hub Pulse | July 2026

10 ways Lancashire businesses are working smarter 

The Lancashire Growth Hub Pulse, written by Andrew Leeming, programme manager at Boost, is a summary of monthly intelligence gathered by the Growth Hub from private sector partners, local authorities, business support providers and universities. Alongside 40 UK Growth Hubs, this intelligence informs a national report shared with government and the wider Lancashire business support community.

Lancashire businesses continue to face a difficult trading environment. Employment costs are higher, recruitment remains challenging, global trade is unpredictable, and national business confidence remains subdued. 

But July’s business intelligence also reveals something encouraging.

Across the county, businesses are changing how they are run, focusing on becoming more productive, making better use of new technology, improving financial information and getting more from the resources they already have. It’s a shift from growth at any cost towards smarter, more sustainable growth. 

Here are ten ways Lancashire businesses are responding.

1 | Putting AI to work 

Unsurprisingly, AI is a theme that crops up in most of our Growth Hub Pulses. It is now firmly in the implementation and evolution stage. Lancashire manufacturers are exploring AI for quotations, production scheduling, quality documentation, engineering support and supply-chain administration. Elsewhere, businesses are increasingly using it for marketing, research, customers communications, proposals and routine administration. 

The important change is that businesses increasingly see AI as a productivity tool rather than a technology experiment.

Within aerospace and defence, companies are focusing particularly on lower-risk applications that improve administrative efficiency and productivity while supporting, rather than replacing, specialist engineering expertise.

2 | Understanding the numbers behind the business 

Turnover alone is becoming a less useful measure of success. One Lancashire garden centre owner recently explained that the business had needed to generate an additional £750,000 of turnover over the past year simply to achieve the same level of profit as the year before. That example captures a challenge facing businesses across the county.

Rising wages, National Insurance, utilities and other overheads mean businesses need a much clearer understanding of margins, profitability and cash flow. Boost advisers are seeing businesses invest more time in Sage, Xero, financial forecasting and management information so owners can understand which customers, products and services are genuinely creating value. Better information is becoming an important competitive advantage.

3 | Improving productivity before adding headcount  

For many businesses, recruitment is no longer the automatic response to increased workload. Manufacturers, in particular, are looking first at whether processes, shift patterns, automation or technology can create additional capacity. 

Some businesses have introduced new shift arrangements designed to improve efficiency and reduce energy costs, while others are adopting lean manufacturing and continuous improvement techniques.

Hyndburn’s new ‘Fix Your Factory in 90 Days’ pilot reflects this growing appetite, helping manufacturers identify waste, improve productivity and overcome operational constraints.

With employment costs continuing to rise, making existing operations more productive is increasingly the first step before taking on additional employees. 

4 | Investing selectively in technology

Investment has not stopped but businesses are becoming more selective.  Darwen-based Brookhouse Aerospace, for example, has invested £165,000 in new scanning and thermoplastic-forming technology to increase production capability and improve manufacturing accuracy. The investment builds on wider expansion including a new 41,000 sq ft facility and additional machinery.

Across Lancashire, similar conversations are taking place around digital systems, automation and equipment. The common theme is return on investment. Businesses remain willing to spend where they can see a clear improvement in productivity, quality or capacity, but major investment decisions are increasingly being subjected to greater scrutiny. 

5 | Diversifying into stronger markets

Businesses are also becoming smarter about where growth comes from. CRC Evans has relocated to Frontier Park Burnley and is looking to diversify into nuclear, defence and carbon capture projects.

A long-established bakery supported through Boost is exploring retail grocery, care homes and healthcare after pressure within its traditional school catering market. Aerospace businesses are exploring opportunities across defence, space, energy and medical technologies.

Businesses are trying to build more balanced customer portfolios so that weakness in one area does not determine the performance of the whole company.

6 | Growing talent from within

Recruiting experienced technical workers remains difficult. The Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology’s Skills Barometer estimates that every specialist technical role left unfilled costs a business more than £47,000 through lost productivity, project delays and temporary cover.

That creates a strong case for developing existing employees rather than relying entirely on external recruitment. Businesses are exploring apprenticeships, technical training and internal progression, while the Lancashire LSIP places greater emphasis on improving work readiness, digital skills and links between employers and education.

For businesses, retaining knowledge is becoming particularly important as experienced manufacturing employees approach retirement. Developing the next generation before that expertise disappears is increasingly a business-critical issue. 

7 | Strengthening the managers in the middle     

A growing issue identified by Lancashire manufacturers is the capability of supervisors and middle managers. Many businesses have strong senior leadership teams and experienced shop-floor employees but insufficient management capacity between the two. This can slow down projects, constrain growth and leave directors drawn back into everyday operational problems.

Demand for leadership development, operational excellence, Lean Six Sigma and structured improvement programmes therefore remains strong. Working smarter in this case means 

giving people throughout the organisation the confidence and capability to make decisions and lead change.

8 | Using partnerships to accelerate innovation  

Our July report highlighted increasing collaboration with universities, investors, innovation centres and specialist programmes. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are helping companies access academic expertise to develop products, processes and new technologies.

Innovate Lancashire is connecting businesses with funding, research organisations and sector networks. Meanwhile, Fhunded has now helped facilitate more than £35m of investment into Lancashire start-ups and scale-ups since 2023, accounting for 47% of verified equity investment into Lancashire businesses during that period.

The opportunity is increasingly about connecting businesses with the right expertise, finance and partners at the right time; an important role for Lancashire’s wider business support ecosystem.

9 | Building resilience into supply chains

Recent years have taught businesses that the cheapest supply chain is not always the best. Lancashire companies continue to respond by diversifying suppliers, increasing strategic inventory and exploring reshoring opportunities. 

One Blackburn flooring importer is now planning to manufacture products locally rather than relying entirely on production in Dubai, where shipping disruption has caused difficulties. The existing overseas manufacturer is investing in the Blackburn operation, with ambitions for it to become a European manufacturing hub.

Other businesses continue to face disruption from tariffs, shipping issues and geopolitical instability. The response is increasingly proactive: understanding supply-chain risks, reducing dependencies and building alternatives before disruption occurs.

10 | Focusing on profitable, sustainable growth 

Businesses still want to grow, but many are becoming more disciplined about what growth actually means. Boost advisers report companies examining which sales channels deliver the strongest margins, which investments generate measurable returns and where existing operations can be improved before expansion takes place.  

A Lancashire training company supported through Boost is improving its Xero reporting so it can understand profitability by course and service while pursuing public-sector contracts. Another hospitality business is using management information to assess whether investment in a mobile catering operation makes commercial sense. This change of mindset is helping businesses build stronger foundations for sustainable growth.

Smarter growth 

What stands out from July’s intelligence is how Lancashire businesses are responding to current pressures. They are adopting AI, developing their people, improving management information, diversifying markets, strengthening supply chains and taking a more disciplined approach to financial management.

These smarter ways of working may not always create dramatic headlines, but collectively they represent an important change in how businesses are approaching growth. In an environment where simply working harder is unlikely to be enough, Lancashire businesses are increasingly finding ways to work smarter.

Boost is Lancashire’s business support service. We’re here to help. 

Boost handled more than 112 business enquiries during July, with 83% coming from businesses new to the Growth Hub. Finance remained the biggest area of enquiry, alongside growth, recruitment and access to specialist support.

Running a business is a journey and, no matter what stage you are at, there is support available. Our funded service is designed to help Lancashire businesses find and access the right support. 

The Boost website features a comprehensive Business Support Finder, a dedicated Business Support Helpdesk, the latest events from across Lancashire, and useful insights to help business owners move forward.

If you are new to Boost, visit our website to find out more. If you are already familiar with Boost, keep checking our website for fresh content and information on new support.

Thank you for reading.

👉 www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk