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Local Landscape

Business grants and support in Wigan

Including Leigh, Golborne and Hindley

As of 1 November 2026, 291 schemes are open to businesses in Wigan; 9 of them are only for Wigan or Greater Manchester. Updated 1 Nov 2026.

In October 2026, no scheme only for Wigan or Greater Manchester opened or closed.

What opened and closed across Greater Manchester this monthWhat opened and closed across the North West this monthTalk to someone in Wigan

Across Greater Manchester 10 schemes

Open to businesses anywhere in Greater Manchester, Wigan included.

OpenSupport programme

International Scale Up Programme

Enhanced Trade Partnership in Greater Manchester, GM Business Growth Hub, Enhanced Trade Partnership

A programme for fast-growing Greater Manchester businesses preparing to expand internationally, with workshops, a 1-2-1 International Trade Adviser and an export grant of up to £2,500. It is run by the Enhanced Trade Partnership and brings together GM Business Growth Hub, Department for Business and Trade, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Amount
Up to £2,500
Deadline
Closes 22 November 2026 (21 days)
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearSupport programme

ASCEND Scale Up Programme

GM Business Growth Hub

A 12-month support programme for founder-led businesses in Greater Manchester with annual turnover of £1m or above, offering workshops, mentoring, networking and access to investment opportunities.

Amount
fully funded (no amount stated)
Deadline
Open all year
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearSupport programme

Creative Industries Accelerator

GM Business Growth Hub

A fully funded support programme for creative businesses in Greater Manchester offering 1:1 business advice, workshops, masterclasses and networking to help businesses grow and scale.

Amount
Fully funded
Deadline
Open all year
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Open all yearInvestment

Equity and Loan fund in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

£10m investment fund to support the growth of companies in the advanced manufacturing and materials sector in Greater Manchester.

Amount
Up to £1,000,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Open all yearSupport programme

Invest in - Manchester

Invest Manchester

Invest Manchester offers a free and confidential package of services tailored to individual business needs, including finance and funding guidance, market intelligence, PR and marketing support, property solutions, recruitment and relocation support.

Deadline
Open all year
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Open all yearSupport programme

Invest Manchester free and confidential package of services

Invest Manchester

Invest Manchester offers a free and confidential package of services tailored to individual business needs, including finance and funding guidance, market intelligence, PR and marketing support, property solutions, recruitment and relocation support.

Deadline
Open all year
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearLoan

NPIF II Smaller Loans

GC Business Finance

Loans of £25,000 to £100,000 for SMEs across the North of England to invest in equipment, expansion, recruitment or cash flow improvements.

Amount
£25,000 to £100,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
Greater Manchester, Cheshire and WarringtonLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Open all yearSupport programme

Skills Development Service

GM Business Growth Hub

Free fully funded training and tailored business support to develop workforce skills, address skills gaps and strengthen workforce resilience for Greater Manchester organisations and individuals.

Amount
fully funded (no amount stated)
Deadline
Open all year
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Check statusSupport programme

Innovation Labs

Centre for Sustainable Innovation, University of Salford (with GM Business Growth Hub

A free three-day workshop for Greater Manchester SMEs with an innovation or R&D project ready for its next stage, covering market research, design sprints and advice on finding more funding. Businesses that qualify can then get help applying for technical assistance from an expert.

Amount
Fully funded (free to attend)
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
OpenSupport programme

Spark to Scale

GM Business Growth Hub

A six-week scale-up support programme for businesses in Greater Manchester covering strategy, innovation, customer insight, people management, finance and social value.

Deadline
Apply now for a place on a cohort: cohort 8 starts on 28 January 2027 and cohort 9 on 22 April 2027.
Area
Greater ManchesterLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10

Need to talk to someone?

Local services that help businesses in Wigan. Each number is from the organisation's own website.

  1. GM Business Growth Hub

    Free, publicly funded advice and growth programmes for Greater Manchester businesses and the self-employed.

    0161 359 3050

  2. Business & IP Centre Greater Manchester (BIPC GM)

    Free business databases, workshops and IP clinics for people starting or growing a business.

    0161 234 1990

  3. Invest in Wigan team (Wigan Council)

    Free, independent council advice to help Wigan businesses start, run, grow or relocate.

    01942 489190

Your chamber of commerce: Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (0161 393 4321)

Across North West England or the whole North 17 schemes

For the whole region or the North, Wigan included. The soonest to close first.

All 17 in the funding list

National schemes 264 schemes

Open to businesses across England or the UK, including Wigan.

Closing in the next 30 days

Open to businesses in Wigan, local and national, soonest first.

Narrow it to your business

What it does, how long it has been going, how many people work there, what it needs help with and what it is looking for: the best matches in Wigan come first.

Business events in and near Wigan

In-person events in the next 30 days in Wigan, then within about five miles of it. 58 online events are open to anyone.

Within about five miles

Events for Wigan, week by weekOnline events

Places to work and meet in Wigan

Coworking spaces, incubators and workspaces a business can use, and venues to hire for a meeting, training day or event, each from its own website. Those with a known address are dots on the map below.

Workspaces (2)

  • Civic, Wigan

    Workspace · Wigan

    Hot desks, dedicated desks, private offices, meeting rooms and catering

  • The Old Courts

    Arts venue · Wigan · Creative studio offices from £55 per week, including utilities, internet and free tea and coffee.

    Meeting rooms, a conference hall, catering, hot desks, dedicated desks, private offices and studios

Event venues to hire (7)

  • Leigh Sports Village

    Sports venue · Leigh · Hospitality suites catering from 2 to 250 delegates

    Meeting rooms, a conference hall, event space and catering

  • Museum of Wigan Life

    Heritage venue · Wigan · Up to maximum 25 people (depending on room layout) in the Discover Room

    Meeting rooms, training rooms, event space, exhibition space and catering

  • St Peters Pavilion

    Community venue · Wigan · Main Hall up to 180 delegates; Walter Hurst lounge up to 25 delegates; Boardroom up to 15 delegates

    A conference hall, meeting rooms and catering

  • The Brick Community Stadium

    Conference centre · Wigan · Rooms accommodate 5 to 500 guests

    Meeting rooms, training rooms, a conference hall, event space, exhibition space and catering

  • The Edge, Wigan

    Conference centre · Wigan · From 1 to 1,000 people

    Meeting rooms, training rooms, a conference hall, a theatre or auditorium, exhibition space, event space and catering

  • The Old Courts

    Arts venue · Wigan · Up to 100 delegates

    Meeting rooms, a conference hall, catering, hot desks, dedicated desks, private offices and studios

  • Wigan & Leigh College Conference Centre

    Conference centre · Wigan · Room A up to 100 people; Lecture Theatre B up to 120 people

    Meeting rooms, a conference hall and catering

All 8 workspaces and venues in Wigan, on a map

No business in Wigan has listed itself yet. Is yours here? List it, free: we read your website to say what you do and put you on the map.

Networks and communities for businesses in Wigan

Groups and memberships a business here can join, then the networks and chambers based here.

Organisations that support businesses in Wigan

Councils first, then the organisations with the most schemes open here.

Towns in Wigan

Each town's page shows the businesses listed there, its events, places to work and meet, and the local schemes for businesses.

Where Wigan is

HartlepoolMiddlesbroughRedcar and ClevelandStockton-on-TeesDarlingtonHaltonWarringtonBlackburn with DarwenBlackpoolKingston upon Hull, City ofEast Riding of YorkshireNorth East LincolnshireNorth LincolnshireYorkCounty DurhamCheshire EastCheshire West and ChesterNorthumberlandCumberlandWestmorland and FurnessNorth YorkshireBurnleyChorleyFyldeHyndburnLancasterPendlePrestonRibble ValleyRossendaleSouth RibbleWest LancashireWyreBoltonBuryManchesterOldhamRochdaleSalfordStockportTamesideTraffordWiganKnowsleyLiverpoolSt. HelensSeftonWirralDoncasterRotherhamNewcastle upon TyneNorth TynesideSouth TynesideSunderlandBradfordCalderdaleKirkleesLeedsWakefieldGatesheadBarnsleySheffieldLeigh: see its pageGolborne: see its pageHindley: see its pageAtherton: see its pageAshton-in-Makerfield: see its pageOrrell: see its pageTyldesley: see its pageStandish: see its pageInce-in-Makerfield: see its pagePlatt Bridge and Abram: see its pageCivic, Wigan: workspaceLeigh Sports Village: sports venueMuseum of Wigan Life: heritage venueSt Peters Pavilion: community venueThe Brick Community Stadium: conference centreThe Edge, Wigan: conference centreThe Old Courts: arts venueWigan & Leigh College Conference Centre: conference centre

Wigan is a council area in Greater Manchester, in North West England. Its biggest towns besides Wigan itself are Leigh, Golborne and Hindley.

Next to it: Warrington, Chorley, West Lancashire, Bolton, Salford, St Helens

Choose an area on the map to see its page. The shaded shapes are its towns, each with its own page. The dots are its workspaces and venues. Boundaries from the Office for National Statistics.

Local Landscape gathers these details automatically from public web pages, and only some have been checked by a person, so check them with the organisation before you apply. Part of Greater Manchester. Show open funding for Wigan on your website. Every area