Councillors in West Lothian have heard that more than 100 new businesses were helped to launch in the last year.
The council’s Business Gateway team awarded more than £100,000 in grants to new start-up firms in the year to 31 March and supported 321 new businesses over the year.
New starts add more than £16 million to the West Lothian economy every year, councillors were told in a report to the council’s Economy Community Empowerment and Wealth Building PDSP.
In her report Clare Stewart, the Economic Development & Regeneration Manager said: “Help is provided with business planning which includes detailed financial forecasts. This is to establish the likely viability of the proposed business. In the twelve months to 31 March, £116,559 was awarded to 108 new starts.
“With a finite budget, grants are awarded where they will make the most difference – whether that is removing barriers or having more economic impact.”
Established local firms engage with the Gateway team’s Growth Advisers on a range of themes including larger premises, marketing, innovation, staff development, strategic planning, cyber resilience, procurement, low carbon and international trade.
This work involves detailed and commercially-sensitive information – business engagement reflects the high degree of trust built by the team.
This team also supports Third Sector organisations and groups with issues and opportunities.
Growth Advisers in the Business Gateway team worked with 636 firms in the year to 31 March. Some of this work involves grant support to create higher-value jobs and bringing forward capital expenditure.
Just over £440,000 in grants was awarded to 62 businesses by financial year end. The firms supported by Economic Development account for more than 40%, or £2.1billion, of the gross value add (GVA) of the local economy.
The council’s online presence in promoting West Lothian as a place to work and visit has also grown steadily since its launch two years ago.
The report outlined: “In the year to 31 March, the website achieved more than 110,000 page views from 31,096 users, demonstrating strong engagement from the local business community.
“In September 2025, a new and improved version of the site was launched, offering enhanced navigation and easier access to business support and resources.
“To further raise awareness, the website is actively promoted through the Invest in West Lothian LinkedIn page, which has increased its total followers to 1,620 followers and generated over 88,000 impressions during 2025/26. A monthly newsletter, distributed via LinkedIn to 876 subscribers, provides regular updates on the latest news, funding opportunities and events across West Lothian.”
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
