New food entrepreneurs’ centre opens

Backed by £2.7M of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) money, the Cheshire and Warrington Business Growth Programme provides a range of support to pre-start-up businesses, entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises.

“We are delighted to be showcasing our offer as part of the Cheshire and Warrington Business Growth Programme,”​ said Carole Eccles, business development manager at the University of Chester.

‘Fully-funded support’​

“University of Chester experts will provide a range of fully-funded support across a host of areas, from starting-up to taking products to market, and securing investment to expanding.”​

Support comes in the form of bespoke, one-to-one mentoring, seminars and workshops. There are also business development and lead generation opportunities.

Businesses that sign up to the programme will have access to the full range of the university’s specialist resources. Support includes business planning, analysis and market research, business development, product development and research and development, digital marketing, HR and recruitment and legal services.

Full range of the university’s specialist resources​

The University of Chester operates across three key sites. These include the NoWFOOD Centre, co-funded to the tune of £5.6M by the ERDF and the university.

Based on the Parkgate Road Campus in Chester, it provides food science and technology support for producers across the region. It offers a complete end-to-end product development and testing service to food producers in the region.

The other two locations are the Thornton Science Park and the Riverside Innovation Centre.