Meet the Founder: Jayne Anne O'Flynn "This isn’t about me. The credit belongs to the people we...
When you speak to Mark Webb, Managing Director of the E-Factor Group and The Business Hive, one thing becomes clear very quickly.
He does not see business and community as two separate conversations.
For him, they are one and the same.
A Business With a Clear Purpose
E-Factor has been established since 2008. It is a limited company, but not for private profit. That distinction matters.
“Our entire focus,” Mark told me, “our purpose for existence, is to support anyone in our community who believes they want to be a business owner.”
That might mean someone starting out for the first time. Someone becoming self-employed. Someone growing an established company. Or someone who simply needs guidance to steady what they have already built.
The Business Hive sits within that wider mission. Yes, E-Factor owns commercial property across North East Lincolnshire and Northern Lincolnshire. Offices. Industrial units. Shops.
But Mark is keen to correct a common misunderstanding.
“We’re not a commercial property company. We’re a business support company.”
The properties are let to local businesses at market value, with ‘easy in easy out’ leases the income generated is reinvested into business support across the area. Being a fair, reliable landlord is part of that support. Creating stable spaces where local enterprise can grow is part of that support.
Everything feeds back into one purpose. Helping local people build sustainable businesses. I am proud to say, The Business Hive has a team of outstanding people, every one of them working hard to achieve that purpose,
Businesses Are the Community
When we moved the conversation towards community, Mark did not hesitate.
“A business can’t exist without a vibrant community,” he said. “And a community can’t exist without a healthy local business sector.”
Across this region there are around four and a half thousand local businesses. Together, they employ the majority of working adults in North East Lincolnshire. They provide jobs, training and opportunity. They anchor high streets and industrial estates.
They support families and the wider community, and , importantly, most local businesses are 100% committed to the positive future of this area
You cannot separate those things.
Businesses are employers, parents, volunteers, governors and trustees. They live here. Their children go to school here. They shop here. They care what happens here.
Mark believes that most local businesses instinctively understand this. Supporting a school, sponsoring a charity event, backing a community fundraiser. These things often happen quietly and consistently because there is a personal connection.
“It’s never just about making money,” he said. “It’s about enriching your life and the lives of those around you. You’re part of something bigger than your business.”
He spoke about the idea of success not simply being measured in profit, or even in personal happiness, but in impact. What difference have you made? What have you contributed? What will remain because you were here?
That is the lens through which he sees business in North East Lincolnshire.
A Culture of Mutual Support
Mark has been leading this work since 2008. Through economic shifts, funding changes and uncertainty, one thing has stood out to him.
The willingness of people to support one another.
“I’ve been taken aback by the mutual support people have for each other here,” he said.
Whether you are running a small charity, a garden centre employing people with learning disabilities, or a larger organisation employing a hundred people, there is a shared respect for hard work. For graft.
He does not describe a place where people succeed by pushing others down. He describes a place where there is genuine pride in seeing others do well.
When challenges arise, he sees people step forward.
That sense of solidarity is something he is proud to be part of.
Backing Community in Practical Ways
For E-Factor and The Business Hive, support is not abstract. It shows up in real relationships and practical action.
Mark spoke about their connection to the The Jayne O’Flynn Foundation, helping to promote its work supporting people with mental health challenges through their networks and events.
He also reflected on their long-standing relationship with Sunflower Children's Action Group. He remembers sitting in a café with the founder before the charity was fully formed, talking through her vision. Since then, the team have fundraised, volunteered and supported events, including helping at their large Christmas celebration for families.
“It’s not always about money,” he said. “It’s about being present.”
They have also delivered “Meet the Future”, bringing together business leaders and young people, including looked-after children, to prepare them for the world of work. An eight-week programme followed by a ‘reverse’ exhibition event connecting young people with employers.
No funding pot attached. No grand gesture.
Just investment in the next generation.
“And the young people all got jobs,” he added, with a quiet smile.
Learning How We Engage Better
Part of our conversation explored how we bring businesses and community groups closer together.
Mark’s view is not critical. It is constructive.
He believes there is often willingness on both sides, but sometimes a lack of clarity about where businesses fit into wider community conversations.
“If you make it relevant, they’ll come,” he said.
He pointed to the Pride in Place work and the creation of the “Thriving Businesses” strand as an example. When business was clearly positioned as part of the solution and part of the long-term plan, engagement followed.
For Mark, the key learning is simple. Businesses should not be seen as a separate category sitting on the sidelines. Nor should they only be invited into conversations once decisions have been shaped.
They are part of the community from the beginning.
Equally, he believes businesses themselves can step forward more intentionally. Attend events. Listen. Offer skills. Share networks. Ask where they can help.
Connection grows through conversation.
Looking Forward With Confidence
When asked what positive change he would like to see, Mark did not focus on quick wins.
He spoke about long-term thinking. About having a joined-up plan over ten or twenty years that supports those most vulnerable while also backing ambition and growth.
“A community should be measured by how well it looks after the people who can’t look after themselves,” he said.
But he also believes deeply in the power already present here.
“There’s a lot of love for this town,” he told me. “People want it to succeed. They want it to grow.”
If we can hold that love alongside a shared plan, if residents, businesses, charities and civic leaders see themselves as one community rather than separate groups, then North East Lincolnshire has everything it needs.
Because as Mark sees it, this place does not lack commitment.
It simply needs all parts of the community, including business, pulling in the same direction.
