Free Advice for Local Businesses

Back in 2019, we teamed up with North East’s Business & IP Centre to offer free one-to-one advice to local businesses.

The Experts in Residence program offers vital support on various business topics, including finance and funding, marketing and communication, intellectual property and law and many others.

Each month we are on-hand to help you improve your company’s performance. And, if your business has gone a little off-course, we’ll provide you with some essentials to help you get back on track.

You can book an appointment with an expert throughout the month. 

To find out more information and book an appointment with us, visit the Business & IP Centre’s website.

BIPC Local

Originally established in 2011 as the country’s first Business & IP Centre outside of London, BIPC Newcastle provides resources and support for the North-East business community. Over the past 10 years, BIPC Newcastle has supported over 14,000 new-starts and growing businesses and attracted over 7,600 attendees to over 300 events. And during the last 12 months, BIPC Newcastle has played a key role in helping over 300 SMEs to safeguard around 600 jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a major expansion of its highly successful library-based Business & IP Centre at City Library, BIPC Newcastle is expanding to six new centres with dedicated BIPC spaces across the region. 

Known as ‘BIPC Locals’, the new centres will open in Berwick, Morpeth, Hexham, North Shields Library, ‘The Word’ in South Shields and Sunderland Libraries this summer. BIPC North East will also provide a service offering within Blaydon Library, in Gateshead. 

Each Centre, including BIPC Newcastle, is equipped with a core set of resources, such as up-to-date market research and business databases, provided by the British Library. They are further enhanced by a tailored and highly individual programme of events, workshops and one-to-ones, delivered in collaboration by local partners. 

Scott Rowland, Director at HiThrive said, "This is a fabulous resource for SMEs across our region. Many more businesses are now able to easily access vital information and support through the opening of these six new BIPC Locals".

To discover more, visit the BIPC Local website ↗