About us

We've been helping people start and stay in business throughout the South West for over 20 years. Since setting up as an enterprise agency in 1993, we have worked tirelessly to support self-employed individuals and small businesses with our blend of practical, down-to-earth advice and interactive workshops.

We're a friendly bunch, and between us we have more years of business experience than we care to admit. Being able to advise, support and inspire people to develop and grow sustainable and profitable businesses is what gets us up in the morning (and not the strong coffee, honest).

In the last three years alone we've helped over 1,300 people realise their dream of becoming self-employed. More importantly though, we're proud to say that over 90% of those that start trading are still doing so after six months. Many of these continue to grow and provide employment opportunities for the local communities. That's a fantastic result, if we do say so ourselves.

Our mission for the future is to continue to passionately deliver the most accessible business support services in the south west, empowering people to start and grow financially sustainable businesses. Basically, we're here to help.

Meet the team

Dee Gill | Managing Director

Responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, including the identification of new sales opportunities.

After more than 20 years at BIP Dee is a proven project manager with extensive experience of working closely with a variety of funding bodies including ERDF, ESF, LSC, and both County and Local Councils and is dedicated to ensuring that BIP continue to evolve and provide a high standard of accessible and relevant business support services across the South West.

Stewart Horne | Director

As our former MD, Stewart brings a wealth of knowledge, and practical business skills to the company. A farmer for over 30 years, Stewart has a deep understanding of the issues small business and farmers face. A well respected professional he holds several high profile roles connected with rural organisations including the Rural Services Network, CQLP and is a member of a number of initiatives.

Cathy Wright | Contracts Director

Responsible for contractual and administrative aspects of all contracts and company procedures, including all financial matters relating to the company.

Cathy has over 15 years management experience, with extensive knowledge of European and other funding streams together with successfully developing multi - partner projects. Cathy is responsible for the achievement and continued commitment to ISO 9001 standards.

James Werb | Marketing & Commercial Director

Responsible for the marketing strategy and all marketing activities for the company, as well as developing commercial opportunities. James has over 14 years experience working for and with numerous businesses, large and small in both the B2B and B2C sectors with a wealth of knowledge across traditional and digital marketing.

Petra Davies | Contracts Manager

Works with the Directors to support the practical delivery of contracts. She is an experienced Business Advisor, having supported BIP clients under various business support schemes.

Petra studied Hotel Management at College and went on to manage Pubs and Restaurants for Chef and Brewer before joining Trust House Forte and moving into Hotel Management. Working in such a people intensive environment provides her with the skills and experience she needs to really work with teams within businesses to achieve goals through communication and motivation.

Chris Langan | Business Advisor

Chris has over 30 years' experience of running his own businesses - retail, wholesale and a chain of shops. He has a wide range of expertise around retail, wholesale, family businesses, start-ups, engineering and B2B.

Chris is a good listener and quickly understands what his clients are trying to achieve, helping them to identify a practical plan on how to get to their goal.

Neil Jory | Business Advisor

Neil is a qualified banker and chartered secretary who is well versed in the technical skills of finance, planning, governance and decision making. He is also a former soldier and an experienced manager who has spent many years leading teams in the banking and education sectors.

As well as working for BIP, he is a Councillor on West Devon Borough Council. He has worked on NVQ and BTEC programmes from level 2 to level 7 for clients including the NHS, Sunseeker Yachts and Mole Valley Farmers.

Adela Mei | Business Advisor

Adela Mei is a business coach, digital strategist and trainer, supporting small businesses to better understand and navigate the business landscape.

Adela has a long history working in the online space and helping coaches and creatives to navigate the digital world.

Helen Caron | Executive Admin Assistant

Works closely with our team of Managers and Directors, ensuring the administrative requirements of our contracts are met, implementing and maintaining systems as required and providing that all important management information. Helen also oversees the day to day running of Okehampton Business Centre.

Emma Milford | Projects Administrator

Providing administrative support across all BIP's projects ensuring accurate and auditable records are maintained whilst liaising with funders and delivery partners alike. Emma supports Helen in providing essential management information and also looks after the day to day elements of our ISO Quality Standard.

Louise Turley | Marketing Executive

Working part time to assist with implementing marketing strategies and all round marketing activities for the company. Louise has over 20 years working as a freelance marketeer and graphic designer along with running her own business support program for freelancers, start ups and small businesses in the South West. Louise shares her experience and knowledge across BIP in all areas she can support.

Download our free beginner's guide to creating a marketing plan.

Select "yes" in the box above to subscribe to our email list. We will send you updates on upcoming free workshops, small business related news and articles as well as local funding and support no more than twice a month. We never sell or share your details with third parties and you can unsubscribe at any time. Please check our privacy policy to see how we store and manage your submitted data.

Supporting you

Stewart Horne | Managing Director

Responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, including the identification of new sales opportunities for the company.

Stewart brings a wealth of practical and business skills to the company. A farmer for over 30 years, Stewart has a deep understanding of the issues small business and farmers face. A well respected professional he holds several high profile roles connected with rural organisations including the Rural Services Network, CQLP and is a member of a number of initiatives.