Applications have opened for the third cohort of GM Business Growth Hub’s ASCEND Scale Up programme – and it really is a fantastic opportunity for businesses of all sizes to move to the next level.
Once again, we’ll be looking for 25 businesses – a mix of traditional and tech – across all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs to take part in the programme, which will be held alongside our delivery partners KPMG and RBC Brewin Dolphin. They can apply here.
Those on the programme will get access to workshops, talks and discussions with successful founders spanning a broad spectrum of topics, including strategy governance, people and culture, innovation, finance and longer-term exit planning.
Some of the cohort 2 businesses shared their experiences on a panel at an event in Tameside recently. They spoke of the big wins and measurable outputs they have achieved during the programme, including one which hit its first £1m turnover quarter.
What I’ve seen consistently from both cohorts 1 and 2 is the development of their peer network. It can be huge for them to find people who are going through the same challenges as them, and allow themselves to be vulnerable in a space where they wouldn’t normally have that luxury.
On the mentoring side, having that confidential one-to-one time to look through the business at a granular level with somebody who’s been there and done it – and to do so regularly – is invaluable. They can also build up a relationship with the mentors, which is again of huge value.
The other thing that the businesses consistently comment on is the range of topics covered on the programme. Sometimes they think they’ve got an area covered, but there’s always something new to learn: even when it’s a topic that they think they’ve got pinned down and really understand, they take something away to implement, edit or improve upon.
With ASCEND you have a like-minded group of people who are learning and implementing – and you can see that change as it’s happening.
A lot of the businesses from the first two cohorts are now working together and collaborating on projects. They also started buying each other’s services; while some from cohort 1 have even invested in each other’s businesses!
They’ve built up such a strong network of people they trust and want to work with. That has been a really lovely surprise outcome of the programme that we didn’t expect.
Success stories from GM Business Growth Hub’s 1st ASCEND cohort
So what’s new for cohort 3?
We’re going to stretch the programme out over 12 months, as opposed to the nine we had for the first two cohorts. That gives the business more room to implement things, but also allows us to have two months with no delivery – August and December – when people are busy. We can give them that time back and allow them to work through what they have learnt so far – and have a moment to pause.
We are also going to give the businesses allocated time with all the mentors. Historically, we’ve assigned a mentor to each business; however we’ve seen the businesses connect naturally with the other mentors, and we think it’s beneficial to access that breadth of expert advice.
Although we are looking for businesses with a minimum annual turnover of £250,000, there is no top limit. We have several businesses on cohort 2 around the £8-10m turnover mark, and others with more than £50m!
So we’re not just looking for businesses at the small end of that scaleup spectrum, but also big businesses – particularly where the founder is keen to get involved.
One final change for cohort 3 is that we won’t be taking them to Web Summit in Lisbon this year – but to SLUSH 2026 in Helsinki!
This event, also held in November, has more of a founder focus. It also means less time out of the business. We will also run two residential trips, giving the businesses more time to get to know each other here in the UK away from the workshops.
So small changes – but things that will have a really big impact on how well businesses are able to tap into that support.
I’d encourage founders to apply now: the new cohort will begin in April 2026, with shortlisted businesses invited to an interview in February.