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For over 10 years, the F & P Networking Group has been run by our much loved and respected team member Colin Hickey.  Colin retired at the end of March 2026 after 17 years of service , he made a significant impact to many Sefton businesses during his time as a business adviser at InvestSefton and will be greatly missed.

The F & P will continue to meet twice a year, Colin would not be happy if it didn’t! The next meeting being held in April at Southport & Birkdale Sports Club.

Speakers include Paul Benson from the North West Cyber Resilience Centre who will talk about preventing cyber attacks and building resilience.

Nigel Wilcock from Mickledore Ltd will talk about economic development in the LCR.

The event is from 8.15am to 10am with breakfast included and will be held at Southport & Birkdale Sports Club, Trafalgar Road, Birkdale PR8 2HF

Liverpool Law Society presents the foundation’s series for young professionals in the first five years of their career across Professional Business Services. The Foundations series offers an engaging programme focused on developing the core professional skills and soft‑skill capabilities needed to succeed early in a career.

They are excited to share the first session on the 4^th June from 4pm to 6pm, exploring how genuine career momentum is built through purposeful, in‑person collaboration. This interactive session will explore why showing up, connecting face to face, and building genuine relationships both within your organisation and across the wider professional community can fast‑track your growth and open doors you didn’t even know were there.

Chaired by Sarah Mir, DWF Liverpool Managing Partner, and James Mannouch, Immediate Past President of Liverpool Law Society and Supervising Solicitor & Pro Bono Coordinator at The University of Law, the session brings together a panel of experts from across business services who will share valuable insights and real‑world experience.

Attendees also have the chance to take part in dedicated networking opportunities designed to help you meet new people, exchange experiences, and expand your professional circle in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

This session is part of an exciting new series focused on core areas of professional development, supporting you to build the confidence, capability, and connections essential for long‑term career progression.

Registration link: https://www.liverpoollawsociety.org.uk/training-courses/management/successful-careers-are-built-through-in%e2%80%91person-collaboration/

The Big Top Festival is coming to Southport for some of the best circus performers in the world on 2-3 May!

With incredible acrobatics, spellbinding live shows, the chance to learn your own circus skills and lots of people being very silly, this totally free event builds on Southport’s history as a renowned home for circus and clowning.

With shows happening across five different spaces in the town centre, audiences can pick and choose what they watch while exploring the shops, cafés and restaurants.

You don’t need a ticket — just grab your family and friends, find your funny bone and prepare to be dazzled!

Visit the Southport 2026 website for more info on the event, and the InvestSefton Southport 2026 page for details on how your business can get involved with any of the Southport 2026 events.

The Asda Foundation has launched its 2026 Local Community Spaces Fund, offering grants of between £10,000 and £20,000 to UK-based charities and not-for-profit organisations that manage community spaces.

The initiative aims to help community organisations repair, maintain and improve community venues that encourage social interaction and deliver vital local services. This includes youth clubs, village halls, community cafés, food banks, and homeless shelters.

Applications are accepted from registered charities or CICs with an annual income of between £40,000 and £400,000.

Applications open on 14 April and close on 28 April 2026, although the fund may close earlier if demand if oversubscribed.

Funding decisions will be announced by the end of August 2026, and successful projects must be completed by December 2027.

Local Community Spaces Fund | Asda Foundation

Caremark are supporting projects that benefit local areas and make a positive difference to people’s lives. £3,000 grants are available. The competition is open to charities, community groups, schools, pre-schools or community-run or local authority-run projects.

For more information, click here Community Care Fund | Caremark

InvestSefton would like to invite you and your team to an energising & interactive workshop.  Led by Andrew Kemsley of 10 Hospitality, a specialist in creative, thought-provoking training for some of the UK’s most respected hospitality brands, this workshop will inspire businesses to take their guest experience to the next level – transforming everyday interactions into memorable moments and reasons to return.

Whether you are new to hospitality or have a wealth of experience this workshop is not to be missed!  

Andrew ran the workshops back in January and we had fantastic feedback so we asked him to come back 😊 the final workshops are being delivered, email investsefton@sefton.gov.uk to book your place.

Louise & Paul, Hoghton Lounge Bar – “We absolutely loved the series of workshops… full of tangible advice, ideas and information to help us grow and link in with Southport’s exciting events.”

Jeanette, The Bold Hotel – “The hospitality workshop stood out… Andrew Kemsley was an outstanding speaker with practical and motivating insights.”

InvestSefton are setting up a networking group for social trading organisations in partnership with: Kindred, SAFE and Merseyside Expanding Horizons – three organisations who are dedicated and passionate about supporting socially trading organisations and businesses.

The group will be called the‘The Social Economy Club’ it is an open, informal meetup for locals, socially trading organisations, creatives and curious minds who want to engage with and grow the social economy which will meet 4 times per year in different parts of Sefton.

The first event will take place at 10am on Tuesday 24^th March at The Lock and Quay Community Pub and Gardens, Irlam Road, Bootle L20 4AH

Book tickets here

Congratulations to two Sefton businesses who were winners at the prestigious LCR Tourism Awards.

The Bold Hotel in Southport was named Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year, while Sunnyside Guest House also in Southport secured Independent Tourism Business of the Year.

Congratulations to both businesses from all of us at InvestSefton.

Read more about the awards and all the winners here.

2026 is going to be a big year for Southport with several large-scale events taking place in the town centre as well as the return of The 154th Open to Royal Birkdale in July .

To help Sefton businesses make the most of these opportunities throughout 2026, InvestSefton in partnership with Sefton Council’s Tourism team will be running workshops to help businesses think creatively, promote more widely and deliver next level customer service plus offering a drop in for general advice, support and talk about upcoming events.

Visit our events page for more info on the workshops and to book a place and visit Southport 2026.com to see full calendar for 2026.

Music for All offers financial grants and instrument awards to individuals, schools and community groups. They open a number of awards rounds each year,  addressing different areas of need within each round. Click here for an overview of 2026 award rounds dates.

Awards Overview | Music For All