Huge demand for Plymouth University and the Western Morning News Growth Fund 2 (PWGF2)
The PWGF2 Fund has been temporarily suspended because of exceptionally high levels of demand.
However the Fund remains open to Expressions of Interest (EOI) until further notice, but these will not be reviewed until later this year.
As of June 3, the Fund has received 201 EOIs and invited more than 130 to make full applications. Of that 130, the team has received 57, meaning that there is a pipeline of more than 70 full applications still to receive and appraise.
The intention is to re-open the Fund for EOIs later in the Summer and, by that time, there will be a detailed understanding of the headroom left in the Fund.
By early August the team will have worked through sufficient of the pipeline to be able to take an informed view of when the Fund will re-open and the level of funding likely to be available.
Businesses seeking funding should submit EOIs via the portal). The EOIs will then be lodged and, at the point the Fund re-opens, we will then be reviewing them strictly in date order received. Keep in touch with the Fund's web pages for updates.
http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/enterprisesolutions/Solutions/Funding-solutions/Pages/Plymouth-University-and-Western-Morning-News-Growth-Fund.aspx
So far nine small and medium sized businesses in the South West have been successful in claiming £843,223 of grants for projects that will create 95 jobs in the next two years and unlock an additional £1.1 million of private sector investment.
The awards follow Plymouth University and the Western Morning News securing £3.9M of funding for regional businesses from the Government's Regional Growth Fund. The £3.9M will create the investment pot of the Plymouth University & Western Morning News Growth Fund 2 (PWGF2).
It is expected to benefit around 75 businesses across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, creating almost 500 jobs including 323 directly, and a further 166 in the supply chain. Funding takes the form of grants of between £25,000 and £150,000.
Demand is very high - a function of both the permissively of the Fund in being open to nearly all sectors and being able to fund most types of expenditure, but also of the continuing difficulties that small and medium-sized businesses have in getting hold of investment.
The first appraisal and decision-making cycle has finished, with the Fund's Steering Group reviewing 19 applications. Typically of high quality, the Group had to make difficult decisions in deciding whether to award grants or not. Nine applications were successful, with a further one deferred subject to additional points of clarification.
The nine successful awards totalled £843,223, unlocking in excess of an additional £1.1M of private sector investment in those businesses that otherwise would not have been made or would have been delayed substantially. And these 9 businesses will create 95 jobs in the next 2 years, with the majority occurring in the next 12 months.
The businesses range from small social enterprises working in the field of IT consultancy through to established advanced engineering and manufacturing businesses - indicative itself of the diversity, ambition and quality of the businesses in our region.
By any measures, these are excellent outcomes for the Fund, for Government in its drive to engender private-sector led economic growth but, most importantly, the communities that are home to these businesses and the often very local supply chains that work with these businesses where there will be positive knock on effects that could create a further 40 to 50 jobs.
Above all, PWGF2 is about creating jobs and this therefore forms a major part of the criteria used in the appraisal of applications.
This new Fund is a substantial extension to the successful PWGF1, which made 20 awards at an average of around £46,000, creating 76 jobs by March 2013, with a strong likelihood that another 10 or so will be created before the end of July when that first programme completes.
PWGF2 operates in much the same, enabling small and medium-sized businesses who can credibly demonstrate how investment will lead to rapid job creation, to get hold of the investment they need.
Almost all industry sectors can apply, although, as with many schemes of this nature, primary agricultural production businesses are not eligible.
The funding can pay for a range of things from purchasing capital equipment and specialist software, and improving business premises, to recruiting skilled employees who have the potential to transform a business - such as software developers or engineers. It cannot be used to fund working capital or speculative property development.
Whilst, technically, the Fund can provide 100% of a project's estimated costs, this would be very rare indeed. More typically, businesses will be expected to provide match funding covering as much of the project's costs as they are reasonably able to, from their own resources and / or those of third parties such as banks or investors. Part of the appraisal teams calculation of value for money will reflect the level of match funding provided by a business where it is in the position to do this.
PWGF2 is also a key component of GAIN, the Growth Acceleration and Investment Network set up by Plymouth University, Plymouth City Council and the Tamar Science Park to drive business growth and job creation across the South West.
The money is designed to enable business growth and the creation of new employment, through the delivery of a specific project. The business' project is expected to take no longer than 12 months from start to finish. All of the Fund's money must be spent by 31 March 2015. Almost all industry sectors can apply, although, as with many schemes of this nature, primary agricultural production businesses are not eligible.
The Fund is only available to businesses who are technically defined as a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) and who are or will be based in Cornwall, Somerset and Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay). The funding will be available to pay for a range of things from purchasing capital equipment and specialist software, and improving business premises, to recruiting skilled employees who have the potential to transform a business - such as software developers or engineers.
It cannot be used to fund working capital or speculative property development. Whilst, technically, the Fund will provide 100% of a project's estimated costs, this is not likely to be the case. More typically, businesses will be expected to provide match funding covering as much of the project's costs as they are reasonably able to, from their own resources and or those of third parties such as banks or investors.
Part of the Fund's calculation of value for money, will reflect the level of match funding provided by a business where it is in the position to do this.
And, at both EOI and full application stage, businesses will be required to state what other sources of funding have been investigated - and the outcome of this investigation.
Applications will be appraised by a panel of experienced people from the investment and wider business communities, and funding will be allocated to pay for professional business advisors to work with applicants, helping to hone their bids. Applicant businesses will need to go through the following process:
Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) ensuring that, as you complete the online form, you read the accompanying guidance notes; http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/files/extranet/docs/MAR/Guidance%20Note%20-%20Completing%20the%20PWGF2%20Expression%20of%20Interest.pdf
This EOI will then be reviewed by the Programme Team, who will assess both your technical eligibility and, based on substantial experience assessing over 250 EOIs for PWGF1, your realistic chances of success in what will be a competitive process. Based on this review, you will either be invited to proceed to full application or advised that your EOI has been rejected (although note that this would not prevent you from trying again, if you are able to address concerns raised by the Programme Team);
If invited to full application, you will then be put in touch with a Proposal Development Advisor - a professional business advisor who will provide up to two days of dedicated support, to help you hone your full application, but who will also challenge you where they see evident weaknesses in your investment proposal.
Once your full application is complete, you will then submit this form to the Programme team, along with your current business plan, three year cash flow forecasts, financial statements (independently prepared) and any mandatory consents, permissions or licences related to your application (e.g., planning permission).
This full application will then be appraised by the private sector Investment Appraisal Panel, who will make recommendations to the Programme's Steering Group on whether to award a grant or not. The final step is that the Recommendations and your application form will be passed to the Steering Group, who will be the final decision makers.
End-to-end, the process could take as little as 10 weeks, although a reasonable planning assumption would be three to four months from the point that you submit your EOI to the point that you receive, if successful, the offer of grant.
The scheme is now open to receive EOIs from businesses. The first grants are likely to be made in April of this year, and bids will be appraised on a rolling basis until April 2014, when the final awards will be made. Click here to start working on your Expression of Interest: https://www.fotpms.plymouth.ac.uk/pwgf2/login.asp
