Exec Summary
Our first 18-month East Ren Accelerator programme (ERA 1) ran from January 2024 to July 2025 with 9 business founders taking part in an intensive business accelerator programme. Each business was given targets of 1) increasing turnover by 250k and 2) employing at least one new member of staff. The programme was a resounding success, with over £3.8 Million of turnover achieved and over 30 new staff members employed.
The Challenge
Many small businesses struggle to access the full range of support required to scale successfully. To combat this and increase economic development in the local area, East Renfrewshire Council, with funding from the Councils Local Discretion Fund, commissioned us (CJM Lumina on behalf of Business Gateway East Ren) to support local businesses by delivering a targeted growth programme.
The Solution
We used our insight and experience to implement the basic framework which allowed recruitment of the first cohort of the businesses to take place. We then designed the programme in detail by working closely with the businesses right from the beginning to inform a tailored approach in designing the services with them not for them. Our overall approach involved a three-phased plan:
We started with establishing financial foundations to allow us to embed planning for sustainable growth. In the beginning, we looked at 4 main business spheres (operations, sales/marketing, finance and innovation) for each business, in order to identify major gaps in resourcing the growth. We then:
By conducting regular one-on-one mentoring, we were able to identify the right time to introduce partnership and investor opportunities, and to support each person to meet their individual needs flexibly.
The Results
We far exceeded our original targeted total growth of £2.25 Million for the 9 businesses and collectively managed to hit a £3.8 Million turnover for the businesses at the end of 2025. A couple of businesses also far surpassed all expectations by more than doubling their turnover to over £1 Million each, growing their headcount from 2 to 8 and even picking up awards along the way.
Another business was taken from an early concept pre-stage, right through to establishing a thriving business, resulting in their revenue growing significantly and going on to win £150k at the Scottish Edge Awards. Some of the participants have described the program as “life changing”.
Client Testimonial
“ERA has been absolutely brilliant for our business… Being in a working space where there are other similar businesses is really nice. The support has also been brilliant, it has helped me to overcome a lot of hurdles – some strategic, some practical… I would encourage any small businesses to sign up for this program, especially if you know where you want to get to but you need a bit of help to get there.” – ERA1 Participant.
In Conclusion
We would like to give a massive thank you to East Renfrewshire Council for funding the whole operation utilising their local Discretion fund- none of this would have been possible without their support.
If you are a small local business, get in touch with Business Gateway East Ren to see how we can help you… It might just be life changing for you, too! For any questions related to our accelerators, contact scott.arnot@bgateway.com