2025 has been a landmark year for the recognition of professional business mentoring. The profession now sits firmly at the heart of the UK’s business support landscape, reflected in the Government’s plans to strengthen support for the business community and its invitation to the ABM to co-chair the new National Business Mentoring Council.

We’re proud that ABM and its members are leading the way across the UK, raising awareness of the value, credibility and impact of high-quality business mentoring. As we help shape the future of the profession, we’ve continued to invest in supporting our members and aspiring mentors, enabling them to be the very best they can be for the businesses they serve.

The ABM in 2025 

A big part of this year has been about our re-brand, launched in the summer. Thank you to the members who took the time to feed into that process. It was a re-brand which created a modern, dynamic, and professional identity, supporting everything that we are aspiring to achieve.  

Part of that re-brand was a look at our vision, which we re-set and launched in the summer:  

A world where mentorship is at the heart of business success, where every entrepreneur, business leader, and workplace have the guidance they need to grow with confidence, purpose, and fulfilment. 

As we move forward, that vision will be achieved through five key pillars – membership, training, standards, research and programmes. Over the course of 2025 we’ve been laying foundations to super-charge these areas as we head into next year.  

Membership – new events and resources to upskill and connect  

Our new monthly Skills Sharing sessions and “Connect Lives” have shaped a new direction for member events this year. From business mentoring skills to networking, these events provide regular opportunities for members. Alongside these are the monthly “Mentoring Masterclasses”, delivered through Help to Grow, but open to all. You can find recordings of all the skills sharing events in the members resources area here.  

It was great to hear in our annual member survey that satisfaction remained strong at 70%, and our Net Promoter Score increased substantially from –11 to +8. We’ve also been delighted to welcome almost 150 new members across our Affiliate, Member and Fellow tiers. 2025 has been a record membership year for the ABM.  

We’d like to say a huge congrats again to Sean Masters, for winning the ABM’s inaugural MPower Award in October – our new annual award showcasing the impact of paid for business mentoring. Look out for your submissions next year. 

Training – new training courses, from entry level to AI  

This time last year we announced our new Training Centre. 12 months later we’re thrilled to not only see our new team achieve ILM accreditation but also launch to market, five courses for mentors. From entry level to ILM 7 and we have just launched our AI for business mentors’ course. Check out more here.

And if you missed it, check out our white paper on the impact of AI on business mentoring here. A paper where we outline the importance of human centered mentoring, working alongside AI to deliver effective and productive mentoring.

Standards – core competencies and workplace accreditation  

At the start of this year, we re-set our definition of what a business mentor and business mentoring means. A definition that sits around three components – business experience, business tools, and mentoring and coaching skills. All our resources and events are aligned with those components.  

We are also looking forward to launching in January a new workplace mentoring & coaching accreditation. Great to see so many members join us last month to find out more. Watch this space….. 

Research – first ABM report on impact of workplace mentoring & coaching

This year we launched our first ever report on the impact of workplace mentoring and coaching. With 70% of medium and large businesses telling us that mentoring and coaching  have a positive impact on business performance. We know professional business mentors have the experience and skills to deliver in the workplace and we look forward to building on the launch of the accreditation next year.

Programmes  – launch of our programmes strategy  

It’s been a pleasure to deliver since 2022 the mentoring side of the Government’s national business support programme, Help to Grow Mangement Course, which we look forward to continuing to deliver from 2026. In the summer we kicked off our regional programme strategy, seeking out opportunities to deliver business support programmes across the UK. From collaboration with local authorities to growth hubs, local chambers and more. 

If you wish to be part of these delivery teams, you will need to be a full ABM member, either Member or Fellow.  

Find out more here about these membership levels. 

Heading into 2026……  

As we head into the new year, we reflect on the achievements but also where we know we have much more work to do for members.  

Next year look out for:  

• An improved “Find a Mentor” page showcasing our Members and Fellows to SME owners. If you’re not yet a Member or a Fellow find out more here.  

• An ABM project to find out more about your business mentoring experience so we can continue to support you in the best possible way and also match you with mentoring opportunities.  

• Additional resources to enhance your practice and build your CPD plan.  

Finally, we are excited to be on the lookout for two new Non-Executive Directors to appoint to the ABM Board in the spring. If you wish to be considered for the role, please send your CV and complete the application form here by Monday 5th January. 

None of this would have been possible without your work as a professional business mentor. It has been our absolute pleasure to support you this year and we look forward to continuing to support you in 2026 and beyond. If you would like to proactively get involved with the ABM over the next year, do get in touch. 

It also wouldn’t have been possible without the ABM staff and Ambassador team, who have doubled in size this year and work tirelessly for the profession. A team that was recently Highly Commended by our peers in the membership body sector through the annual MemCom awards.  

A massive thank you to everyone as we end this year and gear up for another.  

The team will be taking a well-deserved break from 24th December, with the office re-opening on Friday 2nd.  

We hope this Christmas season you have time to switch off and re-charge.  

Wishing you the very best,  

Georgina Waite
ABM Chief Executive