Growing great – Growth programme brings results across the Marches

Published: October 14th, 2022

New figures show a manufacturing support programme has helped create more than 200 jobs across the Marches. 

Latest data from the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP) – which supports small and medium-sized manufacturers to grow – show it has created 217 jobs through its support since October 2016 and attracted £826,000 of private sector finance. 

The MGP is supported by the Marches Growth Hub – the business support service from the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership – across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. 

Its latest update reveals that over the last six years the MGP has also: 

• Carried out 270 strategic business reviews across the Marches 
• Defrayed £517,055 in grants to date 
• Secured 100 per cent satisfaction from clients 

Nineteen per cent of the MGP’s work in the Marches has been with companies in the food and drink sector, with engineering and metal specialists both making up 15 per cent of the work and rubber and plastics firms a further 10 per cent. 

The MGP offers tailored support to manufacturing businesses, including a dedicated Manufacturing Growth Manager to provide on-going support, its comprehensive GROWTHmapper business diagnostic tool, and identifying opportunities for growth and improvement. 

It also provides an independent business review and access to grants to co-fund your improvement project. 

For more details of how the MGP could help you visit