The Marches Growth Hub – the one-stop home for business support and advice across Shropshire, Herefordshire and Telford – has helped more than 50,000 businesses achieve their ambitions, new figures show.

The hub has helped a total of 52,295 businesses with some form of support since it was established six years ago.

In that time, business advice experts have also helped 1,910 businesses to start up, while the hub’s comprehensive website has attracted 103,986 unique visitors.

Business support is delivered in partnership with Shropshire Council, Herefordshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council.

The figures have been released to mark 10 years of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and its Decade of Delivery. The LEP oversees the hub.

Dave Courteen, pictured, chair of the Marches Business Support Steering Group and Marches LEP small business champion, said the figures showed the huge impact the hub has had across the region.

He said: “This is real help being delivered to real businesses day in, day out across the whole of the Marches region to ensure that our businesses are in the best possible shape to continue to grow and prosper.

“The success of the hub since it was launched in 2015 has been exceptional. We have become the go-to place for all business support and advice and helped thousands of entrepreneurs and innovators realise their ambitions.

“We have been able to do that through the unique way we work – in partnership with our public and private sectors alongside our skills and training providers and funding programmes, so that we can ensure we have all the information that businesses need right at our fingertips.”

The hub also has bases in Hereford, Shrewsbury and Telford where its work is delivered in partnership with the local authority business support teams.

Dave said: “Our satisfaction surveys showed an overwhelming number of businesses we come into contact with are satisfied with the support they receive.”

The hub has worked alongside other growth hubs across the West Midlands during the pandemic to ensure its help reached as many businesses as possible, and has also supported the recruitment of extra advisers in key sectors, Dave added.