Hello and welcome to the September edition of Warwickshire Means Business.

The wide range of business support available from Warwickshire County Council and our partners across the county and region is always evolving to ensure it stays relevant to the changing needs of businesses. In this month’s WMB we feature just some of the programmes available and hear how a diverse array of businesses county-wide has benefited from them.

We hear how Project Warwickshire has enabled a Warwick fitness company to expand its offer and how the Skills Escalator has helped an auto centre in Nuneaton to grow. We report the hugely positive impact on a Rugby florist of the Business Resilience and Growth programme and the ambitious growth plans of a Leamington vets practice which has been supported by the Warwickshire Business Start-Up programme.

All the relevant links are in all our articles so please do get in touch if we can help your business.

As well as doing all we can to support businesses already rooted and growing in the county, we also welcome those looking to move here from elsewhere in the UK and further afield. Last month we reported that the Coventry & Warwickshire region holds a continuing place near the top of the UK table for Foreign Direct Investment. This month we hear from a global business which, upon deciding to move into the UK market, assessed locations around the country...and chose Warwickshire!

Our Women in Engineering series takes a sporting direction as we hear how the Girls on Track programme is opening doors for women into the world of motorsport. We also look ahead to the exciting High Street Roadshow which will take business advice out and about across Warwickshire during the coming months.

Our Special Feature focuses on Fay Winterburn who has been so instrumental to Warwickshire Skills Hub's excellent work in recent years, following her appointment as our Head of Employability and Skills. As always, we bring the customary comprehensive round-up of upcoming events and the latest news-in-brief from around the county and region.

I hope you enjoy this edition and please do get in touch - https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/business-support and https://skillshub.warwickshire.gov.uk/ and https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/invest - if we can support your business.