News From Across The Group

Bev Hurley CBE, Executive Chair of YTKO and previously CEO for 25 years, has been recognised for her Outstanding Contribution to Economic Development at the Institute of Economic Development (IED) Annual Awards 2024. The awards, which were hosted in London on 6th November following the IED Annual Conference ‘Economic Transition – How do we deliver long-lasting change in…

YTKO is proud to announce its success in securing the contract for the Building Connections in Retrofit project, a significant initiative focused on enhancing energy efficiency in the built environment. This project is a crucial step in addressing challenges like climate change, energy conservation, and sustainable development. The Importance of Retrofit for Sustainability The built…

YTKO is excited to announce its role in delivering the “Green Skills 4 Business” project in Canterbury District (which includes Canterbury, Whitstable, and Herne Bay). This initiative aims to equip local businesses and their employees with essential green skills needed to thrive in an increasingly sustainable economy. YTKO is proud to lead this project, which…

YTKO Ltd is delighted to announce the appointment of Lee Hughes as the new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Lee, who has been an integral part of the YTKO leadership team since 2011, brings with him a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success across the private, public, and third sectors. His appointment marks…

YTKO is proud to launch the Tech Adoption Programme, an initiative designed to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Warrington with the technology tools and knowledge needed to drive business growth and stay competitive. As digitalisation continues to reshape industries, the Tech Adoption Programme will be a crucial resource for Warrington’s SMEs, helping them leverage technology for…

YTKO has been running our Outset Cornwall VCSE programme for the past 4 months.  This initiative is dedicated to supporting Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) across Cornwall. Building on the success of the Outset programme, which has helped thousands of entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, this specialised initiative aims to equip VCSEs with the…

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has set an ambitious goal to double the size of the social economy in the region over the next decade. This initiative is vital for driving inclusive growth and regional development. To support this goal, YTKO, in a collaboration led by the School of Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), has secured…

YTKO is pleased to announce it has secured Wave 5 funding to continue its successful Digital Marketing Bootcamps across the Solent region. This initiative is designed to equip individuals and businesses with the digital marketing skills necessary to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving landscape. Addressing the Digital Skills Gap The digital economy is transforming business…

YTKO Ltd is delighted to announce that it has now become an employee-owned business.  YTKO was established in 1978 as a privately owned consultancy business, providing strategic growth and marketing services to businesses, and later also via publicly funded support programmes helping to drive inclusive economic growth. With the existing management team set to stay on under…

YTKO has secured funding for Wave 5 of its Skills Bootcamps across Devon and Cornwall, a crucial initiative to equip individuals with the skills needed to thrive in today’s dynamic job market. As part of the government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, these bootcamps offer high-quality, short-term training courses that are free for learners and tailored to meet…

YTKO, with over four decades of expertise in supporting both private and public sector clients across the UK, is proud to announce the launch of the ‘Grow Your Own’ project in Bristol. This initiative, funded by the UK government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, aims to rejuvenate the city’s food and hospitality sector, particularly in the wake of the…

In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, companies face challenges in achieving growth, efficiency, and resilience. To address this, YTKO, in partnership with GPC Skills Ltd, developed the Growth Maturity Index (GMI). This advanced diagnostic tool assesses, supports, and accelerates business growth across all sectors. What Makes the Growth Maturity Index Unique? The GMI provides real-time insights into critical…

Numeracy is vital in today’s world, influencing everything from managing personal finances to career advancement. However, many adults across the UK struggle with basic numeracy, limiting their opportunities both personally and professionally. In response, YTKO has launched Multiply, a comprehensive initiative designed to enhance numeracy skills among adults living in the Devon County Council region (excluding…

In today’s fast-paced economic environment, small businesses and entrepreneurs face numerous challenges. To address these, YTKO launched the BRISBES Programme—an initiative designed to support small businesses in Bristol. BRISBES (Bristol Business Enterprise Support) offers comprehensive assistance to local entrepreneurs, guiding them through business development complexities and helping them achieve sustainable growth. The Vision Behind BRISBES The…

YTKO has been commissioned to provide the new Haringey Business Growth Programme (HBGP) supporting high growth SMEs in the Borough as part of Opportunity Haringey, the Council’s new Inclusive Economy Framework. The HGBP will provide a high calibre, wraparound consultancy and coaching service to help these scaling businesses overcome their growth challenges, and sustain and…

Thanks to YTKO’s Growth Coaching Support, the driving force behind the Growth Works programme, the UK’s powerhouse economy is growing by a further 4500 new jobs in 900 high growth businesses.   This success now means that YTKO has enabled our clients to raise over £100m of growth finance, and create over 17,000 jobs for the UK…

Suffolk’s district and borough councils (Babergh District Council, East Suffolk Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, and West Suffolk Council), Suffolk County Council and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership have partnered to invest in business support and development services, including advice to reduce carbon emissions.

Having already won our second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2022, we are delighted to add another three awards to the YTKO Trophy cabinet!

Two hundred eco-minded West of England workers will become “Sustainable Impact Champions” helping their organisations reduce their carbon footprint, thanks to a new scheme launched by YTKO West of England and Metro Mayor Dan Norris, at a recent event at Windmill City Farm, Bedminster.

YTKO wins Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2022 for excellence in promoting opportunity through social mobility.

In celebration of International Women’s Week, Growth Works is hosting an online panel discussion examining gender inclusivity within the UK’s high-growth ecosystem, on Thursday 10 March at 12pm.

Cornwall Council takes next step in tackling housing crisis by investing in new offsite home to help tackle Cornwall’s housing crisis.

National business support organisation, YTKO, is giving away grants to support SME construction businesses affected by uncertainty caused in the wake of MIDAS Group going into administration.

“I believe that women bring an improved way of thinking. If it’s not a balanced environment, you can get really skewed, same old thinking and I think women do bring a much more sort of creative perspective.”

Between 29 November and 2 December 2021, an online event will bring together project partners, participants and stakeholders from the UK and France to share their unique insight into the Accelerating Women’s Enterprise programme

Our homes use 35% of all the energy in the UK and emit 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions. If the UK Government is to deliver its target of a 68% emissions reduction by 2030, and net zero by 2050, household emissions need to be addressed. As well as Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) providing a solution towards delivering lots of new, sustainable and affordable homes – can this form part of the solution for the retrofit agenda too?

“We want to improve the way recruitment is carried out within the industry, making it easier for pilots to present themselves to potential employers,”

Constructing Modern Methods (CMM) has launched a prototype toolkit which aims to help Councils meet their housing targets by bringing together complex data on modular housing providers in one place.

During the 2020 pandemic lots of industries were hit quite severely, but for the events industry, the effects were devastating. That was when Bristol Events and Project Manager, Katie Dane, found herself at a crossroads. With a lot of uncertainty ahead, she decided to take the brave steps out into the world of self-employment.

Businesses can now access a range of interactive sessions led by financial experts from The British Business Bank, Let’s Do Business, Finpoint , South East Angels and Innovate UK Edge.

Commencing Tuesday 22 June, Outset Swindon and Wiltshire are hosting a virtual series of talks & info sessions, The Self-Employment Fair, designed to inspire anyone going through redundancy, unemployed, or looking for a career change.

Whilst hospitality is one of the industries worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, a Leyton-based entrepreneur has revealed how he has used lockdown to re-shape his Unholy Bagels business to bring a little piece of New York to London.

A Plymouth entrepreneur who set up a completely new fitness experience, underpinned by her commitment to diversity and inclusion, has described how the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a “rollercoaster of emotions” as her business finally emerges from lockdown restrictions.

The Greenbrick start-up was made possible because of the YTKO Group’s Outset Finance programme, which provided a £11,500 loan.

YTKO is delighted that over 230 women were able to enjoy the special events we ran last week around International Women’s Day (IWD) this year!  The taster sessions were organised by teams across a range of programmes including Accelerating Women’s Enterprise, Enterprising Women, Building Growth South West, Outset and GetSet for Growth Ranging from yoga to mindfulness, PR to photography, the…

YTKO Group is launching our award winning GetSet for Growth service across the Solent, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Economic impact report highlights “new benchmarks set” in YTKO’s support for 50,000+ businesses and disadvantaged entrepreneurs

GetSet Accelerate is rolled out to women-led businesses across Cambridge and Peterborough, plus announcement of £1m grant fund.

YTKO has joined forces across a range of programmes, including GetSet for Growth, Outset, Enterprising Women and Building Growth, to provide a week of International Women’s Day inspired events to celebrate women in style!

YTKO is joining a new programme, Growth Works, which will deliver 5,278 new jobs, 1400 new apprenticeships and generate significant inward investment in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough over the next three years.

Official delivery partner for the Government’s Start Up Loan Scheme, Outset Finance is marking the significant achievement of providing a total of £25million worth of funding to business start-ups in the past six years.

YTKO has joined forces with innovative legal company, LawBite, to offer a variety of legal services for our Outset, GetSet and Enterprising Women clients.

YTKO has partnered with Finpoint to enable our clients to easily find the best type and price of finance across the whole of the UK lending market.

At a recent event, TechSwindon Summit, Bev Hurley, CBE, CEO of YTKO, presented to a virtual seminar to over 50 businesses, outlining the need to further build their resilience to remain sustainable in the future.

Entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in Bristol can now benefit from two new fantastic support programmes led by YTKO.

YTKO CEO, Bev Hurley, CBE, in her role as Chair of the Institute of Economic Development recently headed major new research into improving delivery of social value in the construction industry, resulting in publication of the research report, “From the Ground Up – Improving the delivery of social value in construction.” The report which was…

Bristol is set to benefit from a £3million grant to help explore housing innovation solutions in the city. A consortium of partners including Bristol City Council, YTKO, BRE and the Bristol Housing Festival were awarded an Innovate UK grant for their project, Enabling Housing Innovation for Inclusive Growth. By trialling new methods of house building,…

YTKO has been selected to provide business support services to entrepreneurs across the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Area Partnership (SWLEP), through its award-winning Outset programme. Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the new programme, ‘SME Competitiveness’ will involve partners from SetSquared, Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council, under the stewardship of the Swindon & Wiltshire Growth Hub. The Outset service will provide…

Earlier this month Outset events took place in Cornwall, Bournemouth and Plymouth to mark what has become a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The first International Women’s Day (IWD) gathering took place in 1911 and was supported by over a million people. It has continued to grow exponentially…

As experts in supporting BaME and women led businesses, YTKO was interested to see what new research from the Enterprise Research Centre, supported by J P Morgan, reported about building resilience in these under-represented entrepreneurial groups. Over half our clients in our Outset and GetSet for Growth services are women, and BaME entrepreneurs are over-represented…

We were delighted recently to have swept the board at the recent Enterprising West of England ‘Ones to Watch 2020’ awards in Bristol, with clients from the GetSet for Growth and Outset programme represented in every category including Female Founder, BAME Leader, Contribution to Community and Young Person in Business. Ones to Watch Awards 2020…

Recent data from the Office of National Statistics suggests that at the start of 2019 there were over 5.8 million SMEs in the UK, of which 5.6 million of the UK’s SMEs were registered as micro businesses – an indicator that the appeal in developing a business from scratch is far from being in the decline. This evidence…

At the end of 2019, YTKO Group, and in particular, our CEO, Bev Hurley, were recognised for the important work we do in the SME sector. On 6th December, members of the YTKO Senior Management Team attended the Awards Dinner for the SME National Business Awards at Wembley Stadium. The SME National Business Awards raise…

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has today announced £1m funding for Building Growth South West, a funded programme to help people explore a career in construction. Led by YTKO the project will take place across the West of England and Greater Exeter regions to support members of the public to explore a career in…

We are delighted to announce the launch of our first OutSet Start-Up service in London, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. YTKO has been delivering publicly funded start-up, sustainability and scale-up support since 2003, at local, regional and national levels. Since 2009, our support for early stage businesses (pre-start and up to two years…