During the summer a further round of recovery and growth grants were announced by the Government. This latest round of business support funding is targeted at small and medium sized businesses in England providing grants between £1,000 – £5,000 for new equipment, technology and specialist advice to help them recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 lockdown and plan for future growth.
The £20 million pot has been allocated to Local Enterprise Partnerships for distribution to successful applicants. Within our area, Coast 2 Capital (Surrey and Sussex) and the Solent LEPs have both been awarded £250,000 each to support businesses in their regions.
The guidance provided by the Government to the LEPs is that the £20 million can be used for a range of activities including:
- One-to-many events providing guidance to respond to coronavirus,
- Grants (£1,000 – £5,000) to help businesses access specialist professional advice such as HR, accountants, legal, financial, IT and digital, and to purchase minor equipment to adapt or adopt new technology in order to continue to deliver business activity or diversify.
In addition to the funding provided by the Government, which is being made available from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020; both of our local LEPs also have a range of other grant funds available. So, if you are considering making an application, we would strongly recommend contacting the Business Growth team at your local LEP in the first instance, outlining your plans or current status and seeking advice as to the best grant or grants for your business, sector or situation.
Full details of the new £20m grant fund can be found here or by downloading the PDF below which also has details of the allocations to each LEP.
To find out how your LEP is using the funds and to apply for a grant visit the Solent LEP or Coast 2 Capital LEP
If you need help in pulling financial information together to support your grant application, please do not hesitate to contact us.