Over the last year, SEMLEP’s Growth Hub has given out over £1.5m, supported 85 businesses and helped to create 138 jobs as part of the Recovery and Resilience Grants scheme.
Since SEMLEP’s Growth Hub launched the Recovery and Resilience Grants scheme back in February 2021, it has been able to help over a hundred local businesses to recover from the effects of the pandemic, regain their resilience and return to steady, sustainable growth.
The Recovery and Resilience Grant Scheme is part-funded by the Getting Building Fund (GBF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and offers match funding to local businesses to invest in new technologies, plant equipment or machinery to help create employment opportunities.
The grants are designed to build resilience for businesses that have been affected by COVID-19 by supporting investment projects that will create a significant, positive impact on the business’s future.
In the last year, SEMLEP has received over 326 expressions of interest, and has so far made 116 grant offers. Already, grants totalling a massive £1,541,462 have been paid out to 85 different business. The result of this is the creation of 138 new jobs, in addition to safeguarding 267 jobs that might otherwise have been put at risk.
Once applicants have filled out an expression of interest, they have a one-to-one conversation with a business adviser, and receive guidance on the eligibility criteria for the scheme and how to submit an application.
Paul Heard, co-owner of GCN Tipper Hire Ltd, applied for a Recovery and Resilience Grant in late 2021, and said:
“Going from the point where the grant had been awarded to processing the payment, looking for the assets and getting the payments on board has been extremely efficient. The process of electronically signing the paperwork was very easy, and then talking to the grants office was great, and the whole process was very, very easy and simple, and took all the pain away from me.”
Stephen Blythe, Business Manager at Jaltek Systems Ltd, said:
“It is helping us to invest and create a number of high-quality, long-term jobs. We like to look after our people and have a family ethos; recruiting people with the right attitude is important to us and we’re now creating opportunities for more people to enjoy successful careers.”
Hilary Chipping, SEMLEP’s Chief Executive, added:
“This is a tremendous achievement. SEMLEP is extremely proud of the work we’ve been doing to help support our local businesses in what has been an extremely difficult time for organisations of all sizes and sectors. The companies we’ve supported and the jobs we’ve helped create and protect will help make the region as a whole recover more quickly and become more prosperous and more resilient than ever.”
Currently the Recovery and Resilience Grants scheme isn’t open to new expressions of interest but visit www.semlepgrowthhub.com to find out all the other ways that SEMLEP’s Growth Hub can support your business
