Help to Grow

A Management Programme to unlock your business potential, 90% funded by the Government.

The course supports leaders and senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses via a 12-week programme that can be completed alongside full-time work.

The in-depth curriculum will support you to build your capabilities in leadership, digital adoption, employee engagement, marketing, managing change and finance.

With the extra support of a one-to-one mentor and the group of local business peers, you'll finish with an actionable plan to grow your business.

More than 200+ people have completed Help to Grow at the University of Brighton

• Mini MBA style content

• In person and online sessions over 12 weeks

• Open to businesses with 5+ employees

• Your own 1-to-1 business mentor

• Time away from work to invest in your business

• Networking with other local businesses

• Taught by experts at the University of Brighton

You'll come away with an actionable plan to grow your business, new skills and a supportive network of local peers.

Benefits to you and your business

This course is designed to help your business become more resilient and sustainable in the long-term.

You’ll be supported by an experienced business mentor and taught by experienced academics and practitioners from the University of Brighton who will support you in building capabilities in:

strategy and innovation
internationalisation
vision, mission and values
organisational design
efficient operations
implementing growth plans.

Recommendations from Help to Grow graduates

Help to Grow video

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Anderida Care

When I started, I knew some areas of the business needed to change but now I can see clearly how we can solve problems and improve what we are doing.

I have also learnt how to identify our strengths and the things that we are doing well and how we can maximise these.

The cohesion of the group has made it a pleasure coming to the sessions, the questions others asked made me question new areas in my own business that I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

Kerry Shoesmith, Operational Director at Anderida Care

Nostos

It is an incredible programme, delivered by a very talented team. Its compact format ensures that it fits around my busy work schedule, but it doesn’t cut corners.

We have already applied a resource based strategy to kick off a new catering business!

I would absolutely recommend this programme to anyone looking to evolve their organisation by leveraging modern management tools / techniques and learnings.

Kyriakos Baxevanis, CO-founder and MD of Nostos Restaurant

Sussex Blinds

It’s given me the confidence to move our operations and culture forward.

I was worried everyone would be more experienced than me but they couldn’t have been more welcoming and supportive.

We have all learnt from each other as well as from the course content.

Natasha Chandler, Sales Manager at Sussex Blinds Ltd.

Brighton Gin

The Help to Grow course was a superb addition to a busy full-time job, striking a good balance between theory and practice, ensuring things learned can be applied to my actual job.

Charly Thieme, Operations Manager at Brighton Gin

Charly Thieme from Brighton Gin making a drink at a bar

HWM Sports Cars

Help to Grow has helped us analyse our business and form a strategy for growing and thriving.

The comprehensive structure of the course provides an invaluable overview to both new starts and mature businesses.

The interactive nature has been thoroughly enjoyable and the mentor programme extremely helpful.

Guy Jenner, CEO of HWM Sports Cars Ltd.

Focus SB

As a business grows it presents new challenges and the course provided a way to see how best to manage these and exploit opportunities.

It supports you in taking time to get away from the day-to-day and allows you to take a fresh look at what you are doing. It’s great to discuss ideas with other and the course tutors in a supportive space.

I think the module I got most out of was the one on Vision and Mission, as it allowed us to review our current business position and refine what we stand for.

Duncan Ray, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Focus SB

Spark & Bell

The course has helped me realise that I am not alone, that the issues and problems I face leading an SME are similar to those faced by others.

It’s made me appreciate that I know more than I thought, but there is still more to learn as I want to be the most effective leader I can.

The face-to-face workshop has made me much more confident around figures and the financial planning tools. I cannot wait to get stuck in.

Emer Gillespie, CEO/Owner of Spark & Bell

Bennett Griffin LLP

The Help to Grow programme is brilliant.

The peer group and in-person sessions were thought-provoking, and you learn so much from the other businesses, even those from different sectors and people at different times in their career paths.

Amy Offen, Partner at Bennett Griffin LLP

Kerry Lemon Ltd

My company and its future will look different as a result of the Help to Grow programme.

The programme is generous, vulnerable, and non-competitive. It validated that I was doing the right things and I now know I have a long-lasting connection to the university.

The peer groups are phenomenal and the mix of online and in-person allowed me to take part on the programme. I loved being a part of it.

Kerry Lemon, Artist at Kerry Lemon Ltd

The 12-week programme

Help to Grow is a 12-week course designed to be undertaken alongside full-time work. The time commitment is around 3 hours a week.

The four face to face sessions provide the opportunity to learn from your peers and network with the broad range of local businesses that take part.

The remainder of the sessions are online with your peers working on case studies to apply the concepts being taught to real-life situations faced by business leaders.

Free one to one support from a mentor of your choice will help you set targets and implement what you learn on the programme.

Develop your leadership and management skills to enhance employee engagement
Identify what drives productivity and growth in your market, and understand what this means for you
Learn how to advance responsible business practices, including more inclusive and greener practices
Understand how to innovate your business model, including adopting new and digital technologies
Identify key domestic and export markets for your business and develop strategies for segmentation, positioning and targeting
Generate strategies to improve operational efficiency, allowing you to save time and money.

Help To Grow classroom with group of people in discussion around a table and a Help To Grow banner stand

Help To Grow classroom with people sat at a long table and a speaker talking to the group

Cost and eligibility

The Help to Grow: Management course is 90% funded by the Government to support businesses to grow. There is a £750 one-off fee due to pay once you’ve been accepted onto the course - this will be collected by our School of Business and Law.

To be eligible for Help to Grow, the following criteria must be met.

Your business must:

Be a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) based in the UK
Employ between 5 and 249 people
Have been operational for at least one year
Not be a charity

You must:

Be a chief executive, owner/founder or member of the senior management team
Have at least one direct report
Commit to completing all sessions.

Other important information

If your business employs between 10 and 249 people, you can send up to two participants on the course, getting 50% off the cost of the second participant
The application form will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and will request information about you and the business
Any questions regarding the application, please email helptogrow@brighton.ac.uk

Help to Grow: Management is delivered by leading business schools across the UK who have been awarded the Small Business Charter (SBC) by the Chartered Association of Business Schools.

Book or find out more

If you have any questions or would like to arrange a chat with a course leader to see if Help to Grow is right for you, please email helptogrow@brighton.ac.uk

Why University of Brighton?

University of Brighton buildings and bridge over Lewes road at night.

The University of Brighton has a long history of working with small to medium-sized businesses and a strong track record of delivering business growth programmes.

Our Knowledge Exchange team helps businesses find affordable solutions to achieve their goals and transform their business.

Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF4) results ranked the university as 'very high' for its research partnerships, working with the public and third sector, and public and community engagement, complemented by 'high' ratings for its work with business.

The University of Brighton School of Business and Law, who provide Help to Grow is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) – an accreditation achieved by fewer than 6% of business schools globally.

The School of Business and Law was recently awarded the Small Business Charter in recognition of its exceptional work supporting local businesses and student enterprise.This prestigious five-year accreditation, the highest possible, recognises the School of Business and Law as a ‘world-class’ business school, combining academic excellence with real-world impact.

The Help to Grow lecturers and expert speakers are highly qualified in their field with academic and real-life experience.

*Findings originate from 1,220 responses from the End of Year 3 Interim Pact Evaluation Report, produced by the Small Business Charter, published in late 2024.