LDC partnered with The King’s Trust in 2019 and through our support of the charity’s Enterprise programme, we’ve so far been able to help more than 4,400 young people from a diverse range of backgrounds to start, sustain and grow their own business.
This has included providing mentorship, funding and training as they embark on their business journeys.
The Story so far:
Expanding the Enterprise Programme
In 2024, we marked the fifth anniversary of our partnership with The King’s Trust by launching Business Advance to help young entrepreneurs sustain and grow their businesses.
The King’s Trust and LDC co-designed and developed Business Advance, an extension of the Enterprise programme. It’s intended to help young entrepreneurs as they navigate their first three years of trading, providing access to a designated mentor, structured business reviews to track progress against targets and ambition, workshops and networking opportunities.
Following a successful pilot in the Midlands, with more than 100 young people taking part, and 90% confirming it helped to increase their business confidence, Business Advance was rolled-out across the UK and is available to young entrepreneurs up and down the country.
Business Advance wouldn’t have been possible without the support and expertise of LDC. They are one of our biggest supporters at The King’s Trust and together we’re excited to help more young entrepreneurs to maximise the potential of their businesses.”
Empowering Youth Ambition
Download our Empowering Youth Ambition brochure to find out more how our partnership with The King’s Trust is supporting young entrepreneurs across the UK.
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Tips for Young Entrepreneurs
To support the launch of Business Advance, we spoke to LDC employees and business leaders in our network and asked them to share their top tips for young entrepreneurs growing a business. From finding your passion to being patient and building a support network, they share tangible and practical advice for budding entrepreneurs.
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Championing Youth Ambition
As part of The LDC Top 50 – which celebrates the nation’s most ambitious entrepreneurs – we introduced The Youth Ambition Award, to recognise the achievements of a standout young entrepreneur from The King’s Trust Enterprise programme. Brandon Hulcoop of All Things Dotty won the award in 2024.
Watch the videoHands on Support from the LDC Team
In 2023, we were named The King’s Trust’ ‘Partner of the Year’ something our employees are incredibly proud of.
Our partnership with The King’s Trust is core to many company-wide initiatives and our staff continue to enjoy getting involved in a range of activities across the country.
More than 20 of our employees have trained to become one-to-one business mentors, we provide young entrepreneurs the opportunity to network and promote their businesses and products at a variety of LDC events and we have commissioned and bought the work of a number of young artists to display in our network of offices across the UK.
We also take part in The King’s Trust’s Brilliant Breakfast campaign, where we host an event raising funds to support disadvantaged young women to live, learn and earn.