The majority of Full and Associate members of NFEA are Local Enterprise Agencies (LEAs). Local Enterprise Agencies (LEAs) are not-for-profit companies limited by guarantee, whose primary objective is to assist new and growing businesses by providing a comprehensive range of quality services. Increasingly, Enterprise Agencies also provide support to established businesses as they progress to stable and sustainable growth.

LEAs have great in-depth experience of the local small and medium (SME) enterprise economy, with the ability to draw on a local network of specialist skills such as accountants, lawyers and banks. Directly or indirectly, LEAs provide business advice and information, counselling and training on a comprehensive range of business issues. They are involved with every variety of SME, including pre-starts, start-up, sole traders, partnerships, co-operatives and limited companies. Services include:

  • Business support: Counselling and business advice is available to start-up companies and small businesses – and it’s usually free or heavily-subsidised. The unique impartiality of this support is at the heart of all Enterprise Agency activity and its value is regularly confirmed in surveys carried out amongst NFEA members’ clients.
  • Business training: A wide variety of training opportunities are provided in business planning, raising finance and other pre-start essentials. In addition, most LEAs offer training for established businesses in topics such as marketing, exporting, management development, financial management, managing people, etc.
  • Consultancy: Most agencies are able to support established businesses with one-to-one advice on key issues such as strategy, business planning and raising finance, quality, marketing and innovation. LEAs are also, where appropriate, able to introduce clients to appropriate specialist assistance through local partnership arrangements.
  • Managed workspace: Many of our member agencies operate managed workspace for start-ups and small firms, offering tenants a sheltered working environment in which the landlord is also the business adviser. Length of tenure can vary, but all offer easy in, easy out terms with the provision of embedded business support.

LEAs deliver their business support services under contract to a wide range of public and private sector bodies including Local Authorities, Business Links, Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Regional Development Agencies and, increasingly, to business customers directly. In offering local expertise and knowledge, LEAs also take pride in their independence since they are controlled by no single group of sponsors or supporters.

Enterprise Agencies originated in the late 1970s, usually established as a partnership between business and local councils in response to high levels of unemployment and the demise of large sections of traditional industry. In the early days, many LEA staff were seconded from larger Corporations such as British Rail, British Coal and British Steel, particularly in “one-company” towns. There have been innumerable changes in government structure and policy since that time, however agencies have remained adaptable to their ever-shifting market and there are over 100 LEAs operating across England.