Picking up the phone to call Cumbria Business Growth Hub is “one of the best decisions” a business can make.

So says Sam Morris, Sales and Marketing Manager at Cumbrian Stone.

Based near Penrith, the business employs 16 people and has been trading since 2006 supplying high quality natural stone to the construction industry.

Sam said: “We came across the Growth Hub through Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and asked if there was any support for businesses like us.

“We didn’t expect there to be much on offer and were pleasantly surprised when the Growth Hub adviser talked through what was available.

“This advice and grant support allowed us to invest in the development of our site and processes at a faster rate than would have otherwise been possible.

“It helped us to create jobs within our business without increasing the costs to our customers, which is key due to the level of competition we face from imported alternatives to British natural stone.”

Cumbrian Stone has taken full advantage of the training courses available through Cumbria Business Growth Hub.

Sam explained: “Several of our team have been on training courses funded by the Growth Hub and Cumbria Chamber of Commerce.

“These have included CAD training, GDPR support and HR guidance that have allowed us to keep our business up to date without facing big costs.

“Applying for these courses was as easy as sending an email and filling in a form to confirm our eligibility.

“Every training course we have attended has resulted in us making changes to what we do. For example, as a result of the CAD training we now produce more detailed, standardised production information for our team to produce our bespoke stone components from.

“This has helped to significantly reduce mistakes in production, which were caused by small errors in hand-drawn production details.”

Cumbrian Stone continues to go from strength to strength.

Its stone can be found on projects all over the UK, as well as on a handful of projects overseas, and it will continue to work closely with the Growth Hub to grow the business and support its employees.

Sam added: “It costs nothing to ask if you are eligible for support. You may find that getting in touch with the Growth Hub is one of the best decisions you could have made for your business.

“The Growth Hub isn’t something that you can only use once. Their advisers are always looking for new ways to support businesses and, once you’ve built that relationship with them, they will help make sure you don’t miss out.”

To find out how Cumbria Business Growth Hub can help your business, call us today on 0844 257 84 50.

The funding that supports the Growth Hub comes from a range of sources including Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, the European Regional Development Fund, Sellafield Ltd., Carlisle City Council, South Lakeland District Council,  Penrith Industrial BID and  Cumbria LEP.  The Growth Hub is receiving up to £2,528,767 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.   The Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information, click here.