At this year’s Hay Festival (22nd May – 1st June), Landmarc Support Services (Landmarc) is providing a free-of-charge, drop-in support centre to offer commercial advice, support and inspiration for business start-ups through to entrepreneurs looking to grow an existing enterprise.
Called the Landmarc Innovation Hub (the Hub), the facility is the latest in a series of innovations from Landmarc, the international provider of integrated training and infrastructure solutions, designed to promote sustainable growth in local, rural communities.
The Hub will be open between the 24th May and 1st June and features a wide range of speakers and business advisors from organisations including Social Enterprise UK, Business in the Community, Landmarc’s majority shareholder – Interserve Plc (the international support services and construction group), UnLtd (a leading provider of support to social entrepreneurs in the UK) and X-Forces (a business start-up support provider to ex-military personnel and their families). Experts will be on hand to help individuals apply for small grants and loans, to scrutinse business plans, to test out ideas and business pitches and to help with the innovation cycle.
Visitors can drop in at any time during the nine-day event or can make an appointment to see an advisor through Landmarc’s dedicated online resource at www.thehayhub.com
Mat Roberts, head of sustainability at Landmarc explains the reasons behind this latest initiative:
“Landmarc’s ethic is to create and add value in all aspects of our business activities; for our clients, employees, the rural communities in which we operate and our shareholders.
“Last year’s Hay Festival was a major milestone in our commitment to supporting grass roots innovation in rural communities as we launched our Landmarc 100 scheme, an initiative which aims to provide both financial business support from a £100,000 seed capital fund and practical one-to-one guidance for new business ideas, nationwide, over the next three years.
“Our partnership with SEUK has also enabled the ground breaking Landmarc Difference report that illustrated the £90 million Gross Value Added (GVA) our business has generated in rural Britain, the reinvestment of almost £2 million of profits to fund rural business improvements and the UK’s first Social Value Summit at Dartington Hall in January 2014.
Landmarc is also providing a comprehensive speaker programme during the 2014 event, with talks covering tips for success in social enterprises, youth unemployment, creating positive organisational value and successful communications and marketing. The events are free but ticketed and can be booked through the Hay Festival website at www.hayfestival.org
