Business support

Supporting and improving the local economy is one of our key priorities. Working in partnership with business organisations and local businesses, the councils' place & economy team have developed an economic strategy which aims to encourage a strong and diverse local economy and build the foundations for long term, sustainable growth. For more information please see:

• Adur and Worthing economic strategy and data

We offer a range of business support to help local businesses, from helping you set up a new business or understand local planning regulations to accessing financial support:

Getting started

We work with various partners who can provide advice or specialist support services if you're setting up a new business, including:

• Adur & Worthing Business Partnership (AWBP) website
• Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce website
• Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) website
• Job Centre Plus
• Community Works website
• local training providers, colleges and universities

Based on your business enquiry or start up idea, we will signpost you to the most appropriate partner. In preparation for any referral we make and to help any support service give you the most appropriate advice, we recommend having a business plan ready. The Prince's Trust has a template you can use to help outline your business idea:

• Business plans - on The Prince's Trust website

Business West Sussex

The Business West Sussex website is a dedicated resource for businesses based in the area to obtain details or organisations or specific business schemes or programmes  that can help with business related issues. For more information please see:

• Business West Sussex - on the WSCC website

Open to Export

Open to Export is a free information service from The Institute of Export & International Trade, helping small and medium sized enterprises with their exporting and international trade needs. For more information please see:

• Open to Export website

Business innovation, research and development support

Businesses in the Adur and Worthing area can obtain R&D support from:

• Sussex Innovation Centre website - part of the Sussex University
• Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM) - on the Brighton University website

Support for green thinking businesses

There are a number of organisations that offer growth support to businesses looking to improve their environmental performance, including energy auditing and efficiency solutions, funding advice and grant support. For more information please see:

• Carbon Trust website
• Clean Growth UK website
• Sustainable Business Partnership CIC website

UK government business support and resources

The government offers new and established businesses free advice and information, as well as webinars and online courses on a range of helpful topics including national and local support schemes, financial support and tax:

• Business and self-employed information - on the GOV.UK website
• Business support finder tool - on the GOV.UK website
• HMRC videos on YouTube
• Guidance and support for UK exporters - Department for Business and Trade on the GOV.UK website

Helplines

HMRC Specialist Advice Line: 0800 024 1222 - open from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday

Business Support Helpline: Backed by the UK Government, the Business Support Helpline provides free, impartial business support and signposting services to businesses in England, see:

• Business Support Helpline - on the GOV.UK website

ACAS Employers Advice Line: see:

• Contact us - on the ACAS website

International Trade: see:

• Department for Business & Trade - on the GOV.UK website

Other sources of information include: 

• Federation of Small Business
• Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce
• The Health & Safety Executive (HSE)

Further information:

You can find other helpful information relating to running a business in Adur and Worthing here:

• Business

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