Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership

What Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership does

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington (ECW), legally known as Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, is a council-owned economic development organisation established in 2011 and headquartered at Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford, United Kingdom. It operates as a public-private partnership under the Local Enterprise Partnership framework, with Cheshire East Borough Council acting as the accountable body. The organisation coordinates economic, transport, skills, and growth strategy across the three constituent councils (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, and Warrington Borough) and works alongside elected leaders, industry, and community partners to make the region "the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive, and growing economy in the UK."

Its core offerings are organised through three operating divisions: the Growth Hub (a central business support portal providing guidance on starting a business, growth, resilience, exporting, finance, innovation, and net zero); Marketing Cheshire (a tourism and visitor economy division running the Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards and promoting the region as a place to live, work, invest, study, and visit); and Skills & Education (Careers Hub, Skills Bootcamps, Digital Skills, Apprenticeships, and T-Levels). Sector-specific programmes include the Alderley Park Accelerator (life sciences), Made Smarter and Manufacturing Connect (manufacturing), and the NoWFOOD Centre at the University of Chester (food and drink). Finance is delivered in partnership with the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (£660m, loans £25k-£2m, equity up to £5m), Start Up Loans Company, and fund managers including British Business Bank, GC Business Finance, MSIF, Maven Capital Partners, and FW Capital.

The business model is grant-funded rather than commercial. ECW generates no direct revenue from services — all offerings are free to end users — and is financed by government grants and local authority contributions. It has 11-50 employees, a CEO (Philip Cox), a Chair (Clare Hayward), and an Interim Finance Director (Debbie Simpson). The organisation has committed £13 million into the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and engages in events such as UKREiiF to attract inward investment. Customer concentration is structurally low, with services directed at the broad SME base of the Cheshire and Warrington subregion; named case-study customers (trundl, Krapow Thai Restaurant, Italian Balance Ltd) are all sub-£100k transaction early-stage businesses.

Name

Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership

Legal name

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington

Website

https://cheshireandwarrington.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership is a council-owned economic development organisation coordinating growth strategy, business support, skills training, and tourism promotion for SMEs across the Cheshire and Warrington subregion, funded by government grants and local authority contributions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Winsford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Funding and Grants: ECW is a council-owned organisation funded through government grants and local authority funding. The organisation develops strategies and delivers programmes for infrastructure development, business support, skills improvement, and visitor attraction. No direct revenue is generated from services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington is a council-owned Local Enterprise Partnership that delivers economic development services for the Cheshire and Warrington sub-region. Its core offerings are the Growth Hub (central business support portal covering start-up, growth, exporting, finance, innovation, and net zero), Marketing Cheshire (visitor economy and tourism promotion), and Skills and Education programmes (Careers Hub, Skills Bootcamps, Digital Skills, apprenticeships, T-Levels). These services are funded by government grants and local authority contributions and provided free to businesses in the region.

Product overview

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington operates as a council-owned organization providing a comprehensive portfolio of economic development services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include the Growth Hub (central business support portal), Marketing Cheshire (tourism promotion), and Skills and Education programs. These are supported by specialized services including business networking facilitation, exporting support, public sector procurement guidance, and finance programs including the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II and Start Up Loans Company. Sector-specific support is provided through programs like the Alderley Park Accelerator for life sciences, Made Smarter for manufacturing, Manufacturing Connect, and NoWFOOD for food and drink businesses. The organization serves as an aggregator and referral hub connecting businesses with appropriate support programs rather than delivering a single integrated platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Growth Hub Central business support service providing free guidance to SMEs and start-ups on starting a business, business growth, resilience, exporting, finance, innovation, and net zero initiatives across the Cheshire and Warrington sub-region.
• Marketing Cheshire Division of Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington that promotes Cheshire and Warrington as a destination for living, working, investing, studying and visiting, including tourism promotion and the Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards.
• Skills and Education programmes Workforce and education programmes covering Careers Hub, Skills Bootcamps, Digital Skills, Recruitment and Talent, and T-Levels to help employers fill vacancies and grow workforce skills.
• Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II A £660 million fund offering smaller loans from £25,000 to £100,000, debt finance from £100,000 to £2 million, and equity finance up to £5 million for SME growth in the North of England, delivered via partners including British Business Bank, GC Business Finance, Maven Capital Partners, FW Capital and MSIF.
• Start Up Loans Company Government-backed personal loans of up to £25,000 per business owner (maximum £100,000 per business) for starting or growing a business, with a fixed interest rate of 7.5% and 12 months of free mentoring.
• Exporting Support Support for SMEs to sell goods overseas, including connections to UK Export Finance and the Department for Business and Trade.
• Public Sector Procurement support Guidance and resources helping businesses access public sector contracting opportunities with local authorities, central government, the NHS, schools, and emergency services.
• Alderley Park Accelerator Support programme for early-stage and growing life science businesses located at Alderley Park.
• Made Smarter Programme helping manufacturing businesses grow through adoption of digital technology.
• Manufacturing Connect Programme supporting manufacturers to boost performance and productivity through specialised guidance.
• NoWFOOD A centre of excellence at the University of Chester supporting food and drink businesses with technical support, business growth guidance, production facilities, incubation space, and sensory testing.
• 1-to-1 Mentoring with Enterprise Nation and Google Free access to mentors from Google and Enterprise Nation providing innovation support for SMEs.
• Inward Investment Support Support for businesses investing in the Cheshire and Warrington sub-region.
• Apprenticeships Apprenticeship support for businesses including connections to the National Apprenticeship Service.
• T-Levels Technical qualifications for students aged 16-19 combining classroom learning with industry placements, covering sectors including Digital and IT, Engineering, Health and Science.
• Careers Hub Programme inspiring the next generation of employees by connecting schools and colleges with employers.
• Innovate UK Edge Services helping ambitious, innovative SMEs scale and grow.
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Collaborative programmes connecting businesses with universities and students for knowledge transfer.
• Business Networking facilitation Facilitation of networking through Chambers of Commerce, Cheshire Business Leaders, Warrington Business Exchange, and other business networking groups across the sub-region.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cheshire East CouncilcoreOthersActs as the accountable body for ECW and its programmes. One of the three local councils collaborating with ECW.
• Marketing Cheshire (CWTB Ltd)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDivision of ECW that champions the region as an outstanding place to live, work, invest, study, and visit. Manages tourism and visitor economy initiatives.
• Cheshire Science Corridor Enterprise ZoneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated organisation focused on science and technology enterprise development in the region.
• Northern Powerhouse 11minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partnership initiative that ECW engages with across the North of England.
• University of ChestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts the NoWFOOD Centre of Excellence at their campus, supporting food and drink businesses with product development, testing, and incubation.
• Warrington & CocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWarrington Borough Council's urban regeneration partnership that provides business growth services, inward investment, and skills support in Warrington.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership: A subregional LEP delivering business growth, skills, and inward investment services across Sussex and Surrey, broadly matched in funding model, scope of programmes, and stakeholder ecosystem.
• South East Local Enterprise Partnership: Another of the original 38 English LEPs covering the South East region with a similar remit of business growth support, skills programmes, and strategic economic planning funded through government grants and local authorities.
• D2N2 (Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire) Local Enterprise Partnership: A two-county LEP with a comparable Growth Hub structure, skills and employment portfolio, and similar council-funded operating model in the Midlands, making it directly comparable in mandate and delivery model.
• Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership: A subregional enterprise partnership with comparable mandate of Growth Hub business support, skills advisory, and capital intermediation, serving a UK county region analogous in scale to Cheshire and Warrington.
• Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership: A county-level LEP delivering Growth Hub services, skills programmes, and inward investment support, with broadly similar population coverage and a Growth-Hub-led delivery model funded through local authorities.

Broad incumbents

• West Yorkshire Combined Authority: A post-LEP combined authority responsible for economic strategy, skills, and growth-hub style services across West Yorkshire, illustrating the institutional trajectory that LEPs face under UK devolution policy.
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority: A larger combined authority undertaking economic development, growth, and skills functions on a city-region scale, encompassing what used to be the Greater Manchester LEP and providing a model for post-LEP governance structures.
• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority: A larger statutory body that has absorbed former LEP functions in the North West, exercising similar economic development, skills, and growth-hub remits at combined-authority scale — relevant as the likely institutional successor to smaller LEPs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/candwep
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cheshire-and-warrington-enterprise-partnership
• Facebookfacebook.com/CheshireandWarringtonGrowthHub

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership