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How to Start a Business in Northumberland

Free start-up resources and useful local contacts.

Improve your chances of success!

How to Start a Business in Northumberland

Starting a business in Northumberland

If you are thinking about starting a business in Northumberland or would like to grow your existing business, we would love to help you.

Start Your Own Business in Northumberland contains resources and the information that will help give your venture the best chance of success. It also highlights organisations who offer friendly advice and the services that you are likely to need as a new startup or local business owner.

Grants | Networking groups | Business advice | Mentoring | Co-working spaces

Starting a business in Northumberland

Local help for startups

There is plenty of help for startups in Northumberland but where can it be found?

Select classification:

If you're considering starting a business or already running one in Northumberland, this section is designed to provide you with valuable information and resources to support your entrepreneurial journey.

Located in the North East of England, Northumberland offers a unique business environment, characteried by its stunning landscapes, rich history, and vibrant communities.

Demographics of Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost county in England, known for its rugged countryside, picturesque coastline, and charming market towns. The county has a population of approximately 320,000, with a mix of urban and rural areas. Its diverse demographics create opportunities for a variety of businesses.

Major Towns and Cities in Northumberland
  • Newcastle upon Tyne : Newcastle upon Tyne is a vibrant city and the cultural and economic hub of North East England. With a population of over 300,000, it offers a thriving business community in sectors such as digital technology, creative industries, retail, and professional services.
  • Morpeth Morpeth: is a historic market town located in the heart of Northumberland. With a population of around 16,000, it is known for its charming streets, independent shops, and local businesses catering to and tourists.
  • Hexham : Hexham is a picturesque market town situated near the Northumberland National Park. With a population of approximately 12,000, Hexham offers a mix of traditional and contemporary businesses, including retail, hospitality, and professional services.
  • Berwick-upon-Tweed : Berwick-upon-Tweed is a historic town located on the border between England and Scotland. It has a population of around 13,000 and offers opportunities for businesses in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, retail, and creative industries.
Local Authorities in Northumberland

Understanding the local authorities in Northumberland is crucial for navigating the business landscape and accessing necessary resources. Here are some key local authorities in Northumberland along with their website links:

  • Northumberland County Council : Northumberland County Council is the principal local authority responsible for a range of services across the county. Their website provides information on business rates, planning and development, licensing, and community initiatives.
  • Newcastle City Council : Newcastle City Council oversees local government services in Newcastle upon Tyne. Their website offers guidance on starting a business, licensing, planning applications, and access to business support programs.
  • Morpeth Town Council : Morpeth Town Council represents the interests of the local community. Their website provides information on local services, events, and business support initiatives specific to Morpeth.
  • Hexham Town Council : Hexham Town Council serves the residents and businesses of Hexham. Their website offers details on local services, events, town development projects, and community initiatives.
  • Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council : Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council represents the interests of the local community and businesses in Berwick. Their website provides information on town council services, events, and local projects.
Business Support Organisations in Northumberland

In addition to the local authorities, Northumberland offers access to various business support organisations that can provide valuable guidance and resources. Consider exploring the following organisations:

  • Business Northumberland : Business Northumberland offers support and advice for businesses of all sies. They provide workshops, mentoring, funding guidance, and networking opportunities to help businesses thrive in the region.
  • Arch : Arch is a development company that supports economic growth in Northumberland. They offer services such as commercial property rental, business funding, and sector-specific business support.
  • NBSL : NBSL is a business support agency that provides funding and expertise to help businesses grow. They offer grants, training programs, and consultancy services to support business development and innovation.
  • North East Growth Hub : The North East Growth Hub is a comprehensive online resource for business support in the region. Their website provides information on funding, events, training, and access to various business support services.

We hope this comprehensive guide serves as a valuable resource for starting or running a business in Northumberland. Exploring the websites of local authorities and business support organisations will provide you with further information, guidance, and assistance. Best of luck with your entrepreneurial endeavours in the beautiful county of Northumberland!

Local partners

We are happy to promote anyone who is prepared to offer friendly support to local start-ups.

Our local partners have been kind enough to help us and are keen to help you too.

Free Startup Resources

Getting it right from the start can help to prevent problems later.

To help you with this we have created a vast selection of resources and they are all completely free!

FREE startup workshops

If you are thinking about starting a business, our FREE three-hour ONLINE workshop is definitely for you!

Open to everyone, our sole aim is to increase your chances of success. We do that by explaining:

The reality of running a business; the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them; which legal status is likely to be most suitable; funding, grants and managing your money; business planning and cashflow forecasting; finding and keeping customers.

Latest articles

You don't know what you don't know!

The prospect of starting a new business can be incredibly exciting but should be approached with care. You have probably heard scary stories about how many start-ups fail in the early stages. You can make sure that you are not one of them by learning as much as possible before you launch. Over the years, we have collected lots of articles which will show you what has worked well for other start-ups and the putfalls to avoid.

Free Startup Guide

Start Your Own Business in Northumberland

Download the 2024 edition of our Free Start Your Own Business guide

An interactive step-by-step guide which also includes all of the most important subjects covered in an easy-to-read way with links to useful online articles and relevant contacts.

The idea of starting your own business can be incredibly exciting and who can blame you for being tempted?

However, the sad truth is that far too many new enterprises fail in the early stages. Our aim is to make sure that you don't become one of them.

This guide explains the key start-up subjects in simple English.

There is also plenty of help available in the area and much of it is free - please do make the most of it.

Read more about what our Free guide contains and how you can download it.
Starting a business in Northumberland

Key Contacts in Northumberland

'You don't know what you don't know' is a phrase that is so applicable to starting a new business.

Northumberland is a great place for start-ups but your chances of success are dramatically improved if you make the most of the support that is available locally. Click on logos to visit their websites.

Bookkeeping

TREKIM Accounting Services
Bookkeeping that moves your business ahead Peace of mind and valuable insights through clarity in numbers We’re a team of qualified bookkeepers who love what we do. We’re all certified with the IAB so you can be confident of the quality of our work. We’re committed to giving you accurate and timely financial information so you can make the best decisions about your business. You’ll know where your business stands every month. Trekim Business Accounting was founded by Kim Deere. Kim has 30 years of experience in financial accounts around the world and in many industries. She worked as a consultant for Microsoft Dynamics for 25 years, so she understands how the big companies do their accounting. Now with cloud-based accounting systems, she is committed to bringing the same capabilities for automation and reporting to smaller companies in a form that’s affordable and flexible enough for everyone. What we do We specialise in complete bookkeeping services with management reports using cloud-based software. We can set up a customised accounting system for you from scratch if you’re just starting out, or transition your current system to the cloud. We can take care of all your monthly bookkeeping, or we can provide regular check-ins if you want to do it yourself. We’re partners with Xero, freeagent and Receipt Bank so we can offer you all the support you need. With these partnerships, we are also able to get you setup with a business bank account. We can also prepare VAT and CIS returns for you and provide payroll services.
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Advice

NBSL Business Funding and Support
Business support in Tyne & WearSmall Business Grants for business improvement projects and specialist Masterclasses for businesses in Tyne and Wear. NBSL - 6 Esther Court, Wansbeck Business Park, Rotary Parkway, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 8AP
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Advice

TEDCO
North East business support that works for you. Weve helped thousands of businesses to start, grow and achieve sustainable business success in the last five years. We passionately believe in the importance of building businesses on solid foundations. This is achieved through the support of experienced and knowledgeable advisors. We have a proven track record. Helping an average of 4 enterprises to start up every single week.
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Advice

North East Growth Hub Business Support
The Growth Hub is delivered by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP). The LEP works to make the North East a place where more businesses invest, grow and prosper, to deliver more and better jobs for everyone.The Hub is a crucial part of the LEPs Business Growth strategy. Business growth and access to finance are key drivers for more and better jobs. They are necessities in addressing market failures to support stronger indigenous businesses to drive up GVA and employment. The North East LEPs Business Growth Programme provides the framework for an investment of over 200m in access to finance and business support over six years. This investment will increase profitability, wages and employment across the local economy.The North East Local Enterprise Partnership area covers County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland. The North East LEP Board is business led and chaired by Andrew Hodgson, former chief executive officer of Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD).
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Advice

NBSL
A variety of free and subsidised support for eligible individuals and businesses. Our North East Regional Business Support programme offers up to 40% business improvement grants to SMEs. We offer free and subsidised services, events and support to Start up and existing rural SMEs and we also offer start-up support and advice to individuals throughout Northumberland.
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HR

Northumbria Enterprise and Business Support (NEBS)
Northumbria Enterprise Business Support can support the growth of your small to medium sized business by providing a grant to recruit a Northumbria graduate on an internship of 8 weeks to 6 months. Hiring a graduate offers a wealth of benefits to an SME, including an injection of skills, knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm to drive your business further.
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Advice

Northumberland County Council - Business
Northumberland County Council's website contains a section dedicated to helping local business. It covers: Business rates, grants & funding, licences and permits, markets in Northumberland, suppliers, local growth, laws and licenses.
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Funding

Advance Northumberland Business
Advance Northumberland Business has an established track record as a provider of inward investment and business support services, as well as working with larger global brands in the county. Advance Northumberland Business continues to provide comprehensive support to businesses across the County and are funded through a combination of operating profits from our commercial activities and external grant funding. The Team are here to help businesses make the very most of the outstanding benefits that Northumberland has to offer.
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Accountancy

Optimus Accounting Limited
Accountancy and Wealth Management Solutions
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Funding

North East Fund
The North East Fund is a 120m investment programme available to SMEs across Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. Businesses relocating to the area may also be eligible. There are five funds each with a different investment focus to suit the needs of businesses depending on the sector in which they operate and their stage of development. 5th Floor, West One, Forth Banks, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3PA
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Advice

Business Northumberland
Business Northumberland works with you and your business to help you begin, continue and advance with your business online! Working with industry experts to support micro, small and medium enterprises across the North East to help businesses build and sustain a successful online presence.
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Advice

BIC - Start Up Services
Need help to turn your amazing ideas into reality? We have 25 years experience of helping entrepreneurs just like you.Theyve gone on to do amazing things. Some have created successful companies you can see today, right here at the BICs business park.Answers, inspiration and moreOur dedicated Start Up service is designed to get you properly prepared to launch your own business.The path of the entrepreneur isnt always easy. But with us by your side helping you to do the right research and the proper planning, you can do it.Were a friendly bunch and we pride ourselves on our straightforward approach to business support. We like to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in because we know thats what your business needs. Hard graft and helping hands. Wearfield, Enterprise Park East, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR5 2TA
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Advice

Business Northumberland Online Training & Support
Do you run a business in Northumberland? Is your business online? Do you need support to get it online? Business Northumberland supports businesses of all kinds across the region, whether you are looking to get your B&B on Instagram or you need support collating data on Microsoft Excel, Business Northumberland has courses to support your business and its growth. The Business Northumberland programme is designed to help ambitious businesses to achieve their growth potential by providing credible, tailored and expert support. The business support programme managed by Advance Northumberland and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) offers fully funded support to businesses in the North East. C/o: Wansbeck Workspace, Rotary Parkway, Ashington, Northumberland NE63 8QZ
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Networking

North East England Chamber
The regions largest business membership organisation representing 3,000+ businesses. For over 200 years, we have supported businesses grow their knowledge, influence and connectivity regionally, nationally and internationally. We want to create a world where businesses in the North East of England thrive as a collective force. We are a completely independent body owned by our members and work with businesses of all sizes and sectors.
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Networking

The Lonely Middle Club - From Startup Hive
Starting a business is exciting, and succeeding is rewarding, but what about the bit between? You know, that bit that’s full of self-doubt, endless repetition and feelings of being out of your comfort zone? We call it ‘The Lonely Middle’ and it’s one of the hardest parts of creating a successful business. We know, we’ve been there. So, we created The Lonely Middle Club to help you through it. Each month you get exclusive content to help give you the knowledge and inspiration to succeed. Plus, you get access to a private members-only Facebook group where you can get advice and network with small business owners who are going through similar challenges to you. If you want even more, you can download our 51 worksheets, guides, and journals all designed to do one thing, and one thing only… help you get through ‘The Lonely Middle’ and achieve your business goals. Visit our website today to join the club and benefit from our members price lock and full no questions asked money-back guarantee.
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Advice

Northumberland Business Service Ltd
NBSL are a not for profit enterprise agency that operate from 7 Business Advice Centres located throughout Northumberland. We provide free start up support to anyone considering starting their own business. We also manage workspace for new businesses in Berwick. In addition to one to one support we run group sessions on business topics. If you live in Northumberland please contact us to arrange to see an Adviser in your local area. All our Advisers are SFEDI accredited which is the industry standard. Our Business Advice Centres are located in: Berwick x 2. Alnwick, Ashington, Blyth, Morpeth and Hexham
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Start-up articles

100's of free startup articles

We have created a collection of 100s of startup articles to help anyone with whatever stage they are on with their business journey. Hundreds of thousands of people have gone before you and we can learn from what they got right and avoid the things that have been proved not to work so well.

You can see the full list of 'articles' at: How to start a business