£25.9 million investment to strengthen business support across North East England
Space businesses across North East England could benefit from a new £25.9 million programme designed to make regional business support simpler and easier to access.
The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority has announced Business North East, a partnership bringing together the authority and the region’s seven local councils.
Running from January 2027 to March 2029, the programme will connect businesses with advice, finance, mentoring, export support and other opportunities through a coordinated regional system.
Supporting businesses from start-up to scale-up
A central regional hub will provide specialist advice and deliver initiatives covering finance, mentoring and international markets.
Seven local-authority services will work directly with businesses in their areas, helping them identify and access the most relevant local and regional support.
Business North East will be delivered through five programmes:
Inspire – encouraging more people to consider entrepreneurship
Explore – helping people develop ideas and prepare to start a business
Start – supporting new businesses during their early stages
Succeed – helping established companies improve productivity, innovation and resilience
Grow – supporting businesses to scale, create jobs, secure finance and enter new markets
The approach was developed with input from more than 300 businesses, which highlighted the need for better coordination and clearer routes into support.
Helping North East space companies grow
Developing a space business can involve long research and development cycles, specialist skills, complex supply chains and the need to access national and international markets.
The new programme could provide additional support for companies working across satellite communications, Earth observation, advanced electronics, instrumentation, materials, manufacturing and space data.
It will complement the work of Space North East England, which connects businesses with regional partners, facilities, expertise and opportunities across the space sector.
Business North East is due to launch in January 2027.
