A FURTHER 21 private and public sector organisations have signed up to give their backing to Boost Business Lancashire – the county’s £7.2million business growth hub.

Boost has now recruited a total of 33 firms to act as champions of the service and to refer their ambitious clients and members to Boost’s range of free and part-funded business support programmes.

Accountancy, legal, financial services, marketing and education providers, as well as business support organisations, are among the latest contingent to have joined Boost & Co, as the partnership is known.

They are Farleys Solicitors, Forbes Solicitors, Napthens solicitors, PM+M, Blue Wren, Champion Accountants, Chorley Council, Downtown Lancashire, Desired Fabrications, Enterprise Ventures, Freshfield, Lancashire Business Angels, Galen Partners, Marketing Lancashire, Preston’s College, Propel, Tigerfish PR, The Melia Partnership, Vincents Solicitors, Yorkshire Bank and 1 Business Enterprise.

Andrew Leeming, senior projects officer for Lancashire County Council, said: “We launched Boost & Co to better engage with the wider business support community in Lancashire and to encourage our members to communicate the Boost message to their own clients, customers and partners.

“It has been a tremendous success in terms of increasing the number of growing Lancashire businesses being referred to receive support from our Boost programmes.”

Boost aims to grow the county’s economy by £20million, create at least 1,200 new jobs and safeguard 700 more by 2015.

It is being delivered through a partnership between Lancashire County Council, Community and Business Partners, Lancaster University, Regenerate Pennine Lancashire, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and Winning Pitch. £3.6million has been provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Businesses can sign up to the programme through the website www.boostbusinesslancashire.

co.uk or call 0800 488 0057.