Small and medium sized enterprises have been urged to apply to the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) for help to grow their business.
North of Tyne has made it easier for SMEs to gain financial support, by lowering the minimum grant threshold from its North of Tyne Business Growth Fund from £40,000 to £20,000. It means small businesses with smaller projects are now able to access growth fundingGrants from £20,000 to £200,000 are available from the North of Tyne Business Growth Fund to businesses wishing to grow in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. Growing your business? Grants from £20,000 to £200,000 available from NTCA.
Mayor Jamie Driscoll said: “Small businesses are the life blood of our local economy. At the North of Tyne, we’re investing to help those businesses grow and to innovate for the future. It’s all about creating good jobs for people, supporting small businesses to thrive, and doing it in a collaborative way.”
The North of Tyne Growth Fund is a project that aims to support SMEs across Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle local authority areas to create employment and stimulate business growth. The project has been awarded £4.6m from the European Regional Development Fund Programme and will leverage £10.5m of private sector investment. Delivered by NTC in partnership with UMi, the primary aim of the fund is to create employment and stimulate business growth. It is part of a multi-million package of business support mobilised by North of Tyne Combined Authority.
North of Tyne Growth Fund Project Advisor for Newcastle Lisa Gowler said: “We want to hear from businesses that are based in Newcastle, North Tyneside or Northumberland We’re looking for businesses that are looking to grow; we’re looking for businesses that are looking to take on staff as part of that growth. We’re looking for manufacturing businesses, businesses that are ethical, that are environmentally friendly, we are looking for businesses that are looking to take on a project that’s going to encapsulate capital assets to purchase. There may be a mix of all those things within the project and our role is to make sure that we match you up with the right support as well as the fund itself.”
North of Tyne Growth Fund Project Advisor for Northumberland Phil Davidson said: “The fund can provide grants now of between £20,000 and £200,000 to support expansion. Previously it had been a minimum of £40,000 but we were finding for a lot of companies their projects were a lot smaller and for £40,000 they would have to have invested eligible expenditure of £134,000. Now, with the smaller grant of £20,000 that brings it down to eligible expenditure of £67,000, so hopefully it will be a lot more accessible to companies coming to us for help with their expansion plans.”
All successful grants applications are appraised by UNW LLP, an independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers. For more information visit: https://www.northoftynegrowthfund.co.uk/
About the European Regional Development Fund
The project has received £4,640,938 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund.
Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding
