North East leaders have approved a major overhaul of business support provided by the North East Mayoral Authority, with almost £26 million to be invested between January 2027 and March 2029.
The new approach was developed in partnership with the region's business community, which had raised concerns about barriers to growth including fragmentation, duplication and uneven access to support. The authority will introduce a "hub and spoke" model designed to make it easier for businesses to find the right support.
Hub and spoke model
Under the model, the mayoral authority will act as the "hub", while the region's seven local councils will act as the "spokes", providing local intelligence and connecting businesses into the wider regional support offer. The £25.8 million comes on top of £7.1 million put forward earlier this year.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the authority's cabinet, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: "It's not easy to start a business. We know that first hand - we know what the challenges are and how difficult the operating conditions can be."
Support for entrepreneurs
She added: "Now, we're stepping in to support the region's entrepreneurs. We're investing £3 million to support people who have taken their good idea and created a business, who want to do well, create jobs and take their business global."
John McCabe, the council's business board member and chief executive at the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is a big investment, and it's really important."
He continued: "Businesses have been involved in designing what this looks like. So many of the businesses I talk to tell me they're spending to much time working in their business rather than on their business."
McCabe added: "They are the very people who we want to lift their expectations, lift their ambition and start thinking about their three, five and ten year planning - how they are going to grow their business and create more good quality jobs in our region? Something like this, the way it's been designed, really enables them to do that."
