Exclusive | Expertise | Evolution
NTU Enterprise Upscaler, designed for driving your business productivity, reputation, and profits.
Do you and your team need space to think? Access to trusted expertise?
Would you like to join a community of like-minded, driven business leaders in Nottingham?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, our UpScaler Programme is for you.
UpScaler is an exciting, exclusive, targeted business programme. Funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the Sustainable Urban Development Scheme, and delivered by Nottingham Trent University’s Dryden Enterprise Centre, in collaboration with Nottingham Business School.
UpScaler will provide a flexible combination of support activities, tailored to specific needs and growth requirements:
- A detailed diagnostic of your individual scale-up challenges and opportunities, with a semi bespoke programme created for each cohort
- Three half-day leadership development workshops to enhance your and your senior teams' skills as leaders, including change management skills - helping you to navigate your team through growth and change
- Six workshops focusing on topical themes, delivered by experts within the field. The topics will be selected from the top scale-up challenges presented during the diagnostic activity undertaken with all cohort participants. Topics could include: sales and marketing on social media, access to finance and innovation, recruiting and retaining talent
- Organised with you in mind, hear from three Business Leaders who are experts in their respective fields, helping you by imparting knowledge, experience and support
- Access to an exclusive UpScaler Forum – so that you can learn from others
UpScaler is funded by the European Regional Development Fund until June 2023. Support is available to SMEs based in the Greater Nottingham (SUDS) area, which includes all of Nottingham City and Broxtowe Borough, and parts of Ashfield, Rushcliffe, and Gedling. You can view the SUDS map here for a full list of eligible locations.
UpScaler will continue to support SMEs that are scaling up, rapidly growing, or have the potential to do so. To be eligible for support SMEs must fit one of the three criteria below:
Scale-Up Growing at 20% or more per year over 3 years, in either headcount or turnover, with 10+ employees at start with a turnover of between £1m to circa £45 million per annum.
Potential scale-ups Growth of 5 - 20% for at least 2-3 years, in either headcount or turnover with 10+ employees at start of the period. Turnover from £1m to circa £45 million p.a.
Ambitious businesses Proven scalability, financial stability & marketability. Some scaling characteristics: e.g. growth of 20% per annum.
The project originally ran from September 2018 to July 2021 and has supported over 200 scaling businesses, delivering over 3500 of beneficiary hours and distributing £185k of grant funding and placed over 40 graduates into SME roles.
UpScaler participants share a combined turnover of over £480 million and employ over 3800 full time employees.
Due to the success of the project we are delighted to be able to continue the UpScaler support programme through our new Dryden Enterprise Centre as part of our European Regional Development Funded Programme.
Read the success stories and view video case studies from previous Upscaler businesses
Register your interest
Applications for this programme are now closed. Please fill in this form if you would like to be updated with further information when our next set of programmes open.
The support we received from UpScaler enabled us to take a step away from the business and refocus our efforts on developing our strategic vision and working out what we need to do to get us there. As a business in transition, it’s often hard to take time away from the day to day to do that strategic thinking.
Catherine Hoenigmann, Jupiter Play & Leisure
Contact us
If you have any questions about the UpScaler programme or require assistance in completing the application form, please email amanda.stanford@ntu.ac.uk.
Our UpScaler programme Privacy Notice can be accessed here.