![\"Alan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/0_CFR_NJL_061026sirius_01.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSirius was created 27 years ago to encourage entrepreneurship following a restructure at BP Chemicals\u2019 Saltend site<\/p>\n
Alan Gordon-Freeman, Chief Executive of Sirius, and Jan Brumby, Chief Executive of FEO, marking a new legacy donation which will help expand support for entrepreneurs across Hull and East Yorkshire.(Image: Sirius)<\/p>\n
A pioneering Hull business support agency has closed its doors after helping more than 5,000 businesses <\/a>over almost three decades \u2013 but its legacy will carry on. Sirius was established by BP Chemicals at Saltend in 1999 to support entrepreneurs across Hull and East Yorkshire, following restructuring at the site.<\/p>\n Its original purpose was to encourage self-employment<\/a>, help local businesses start and grow, and create sustainable job opportunities in Hull, Hedon and the East Riding of Yorkshire. And what began as a three-year initiative developed into a long-running commitment to local enterprise.<\/p>\n Now, after 27 years, Sirius is closing – but it has made an undisclosed legacy donation to fellow support organisation For Entrepreneurs Only (FEO), to make sure local people can continue to start and grow businesses. FEO will carry forward Sirius\u2019 mission through mentoring, events, support and a new generation of practical resources for entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n Sirius has supported an estimated 5,000 businesses during its lifetime, helping people move into self-employment, set their own ventures in motion, get access to finance, tackle challenges and create jobs<\/a>. Its clients will now be welcomed into FEO\u2019s wider community, with access to business programmes and support.<\/p>\n Mark Stageman, Chair of Sirius, said: \u201cAfter 27 years of supporting job creation and businesses in the Hull and East Riding area, Sirius is pleased that its legacy will continue through a donation to FEO. This will be used to enhance FEO\u2019s digital platforms and other entrepreneurial business-support initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n Alan Gordon-Freeman, Chief Executive of Sirius, said: \u201cSirius was created to help local people create opportunities for themselves, build businesses and generate employment in Hull and East Yorkshire. The greatest satisfaction has always come from seeing people succeed – meeting someone years later and hearing that they have taken on new premises, created jobs or built a thriving business.<\/p>\n Get all the latest headlines sent straight to your inbox for free with our newsletter. You can stay up to date with all the breaking news and top stories as they happen in Hull and East Yorkshire by clicking this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are closing Sirius, but we are immensely proud of the difference it has made since 1999. Our mission has always been to make practical business advice, ongoing support and fair finance accessible to local entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n \u201cFEO will now take up the baton, and I am confident it will continue Sirius\u2019s commitment to giving local entrepreneurs the support, confidence and opportunities they need to achieve a brighter future. Starting and running a business can be difficult and, at times, lonely.<\/p>\n “It is important that people have somewhere trusted to turn when they have a problem, an opportunity or simply need someone to help them think through their next step. FEO is well placed to provide that support long into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n David Hall, Chair of the Board of Directors of FEO, said: \u201cWe are honoured that Sirius has chosen FEO to carry forward its enterprise legacy. Over nearly three decades, Sirius has helped people turn ideas into livelihoods, overcome barriers, build confidence and create businesses that support themselves, their families and the wider local economy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis legacy donation will help FEO expand the way people can access business support. Some entrepreneurs will want to attend an event, speak to a mentor or learn alongside peers. Others may need a useful resource late at night, a structured toolkit to test an idea, or guidance that fits around employment, family life or the demands of running a business.<\/p>\n \u201cBy combining new tools with human experience, mentoring and peer connection, we can help more people take their next step with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information<\/a> about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sirius was created 27 years ago to encourage entrepreneurship following a restructure at BP Chemicals\u2019 Saltend site Alan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[138,1122,336,367,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-623201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-employment","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-google","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}