GAIN E-Newsletter Sign-up
Latest GAIN Growth Fund offers grants of up to £1m
A new round of the GAIN Growth Fund has been launched offering grants of between £25,000 to £1m to companies which can demonstrate growth plans and job creation.
Following the successful bidding to BIS by the Plymouth and South West City Deal Partners, another tranche of grant money has been secured to assist businesses across the South West to grow and create new jobs for the people of our Region.
This new Fund follows the successful PWGF1 and PWGF2, which made more than 60 awards which could create more than 500 new jobs by March 2015.
GGF+ will operate in much the same way and will enable small, medium-sized and larger businesses who can credibly demonstrate how investment will lead to rapid job creation, to get hold of the investment they need.
Professor Julian Beer, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Regional Enterprise) of Plymouth University, said: "The Peninsular City Deal is an unrivalled opportunity to kickstart growth across the region and this latest fund will assist those companies which could emerge as leaders in sectors such as marine and supply chain, advanced manufacturing, digital and environmental technologies.
"Previous GAIN Growth Funds have been a great success and have so far created more than 500 jobs in the region. Plymouth University and its partners will continue to drive initiatives to create prosperity and wealth in the South West."
The funding will be made available to businesses in Cornwall, Somerset and Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay, in the form of grants of between £25,000 and £150,000 for SMEs, and between £250,000 to £1m for larger applications.
The money is designed to enable business growth and the creation of new employment, through the delivery of a specific project. The business's project is expected to take no longer than 12 months from start to finish and all of the Fund's money must be spent by 31st March 2015.
The Fund is being operated under both the de minimis aid and GBER regulations. What this means is that if a company has received public money before (or publicly-funded support that has a cash value) which was also provided under the de minimis aid regulation, the total (ie, including the amount you are asking for from GGF+) must not exceed 200,000 Euros (about £160,000 at this point in time) in a rolling three year period (i.e. including the time of your proposed project).
As part of the application, the business will be required to make a formal declaration to the effect that the total of public funding received does not exceed this threshold.
For larger grant applications, ie those over £250,000, the money will be offered under GBER state-aid regulations. There are restrictions as to the amount of grant money that can be applied for in relation to the total project cost depending on size of business, location, purpose, and can be referred to as Intervention Rate. More details can be obtained from BIS and the guidance notes and prospectus on the GGF+ Portal.
The City Deal Partners have identified four industry sectors as strategic targets, being Marine and Supply Chain, Advanced Manufacturing, Digital, and Environmental Technologies, but 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 that are based in Cornwall, Somerset and Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay. Businesses located in the Local Authority areas of North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset are not able to apply for funding as these are not part of the Local Enterprise Partnership area covered by the Fund. Somerset refers to the Somerset County Council area and comprises the Local Authority Districts of South Somerset, West Somerset, Mendip, Sedgemoor and Taunton Deane only.
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 could provide 100% of a project's estimated costs under the Smaller Grants Scheme, 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 our 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.
In respect of the Larger Grants Scheme, as indicated above there are restrictions as to how much grant money can be made available depending on the GBER regulations. This can vary from 10% of the project costs, to 50% or higher, but would typically be between 10% - 25%
Applications will be appraised by a panel of experienced people from the investment and wider business communities.
The first grants are likely to be made in April of this year, and bids will be appraised on a rolling basis until August 2014, when the final awards will be made.
Click here to start working on your Expression of Interest: https://www.fotpms.plymouth.ac.uk/citydeal/login.asp
This new Fund follows the successful PWGF1 and PWGF2, which made more than 60 awards which could create more than 500 new jobs by March 2015.
GGF+ will operate in much the same way and will enable small, medium-sized and larger businesses who can credibly demonstrate how investment will lead to rapid job creation, to get hold of the investment they need.
Professor Julian Beer, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Regional Enterprise) of Plymouth University, said: "The Peninsular City Deal is an unrivalled opportunity to kickstart growth across the region and this latest fund will assist those companies which could emerge as leaders in sectors such as marine and supply chain, advanced manufacturing, digital and environmental technologies.
"Previous GAIN Growth Funds have been a great success and have so far created more than 500 jobs in the region. Plymouth University and its partners will continue to drive initiatives to create prosperity and wealth in the South West."
The funding will be made available to businesses in Cornwall, Somerset and Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay, in the form of grants of between £25,000 and £150,000 for SMEs, and between £250,000 to £1m for larger applications.
The money is designed to enable business growth and the creation of new employment, through the delivery of a specific project. The business's project is expected to take no longer than 12 months from start to finish and all of the Fund's money must be spent by 31st March 2015.
The Fund is being operated under both the de minimis aid and GBER regulations. What this means is that if a company has received public money before (or publicly-funded support that has a cash value) which was also provided under the de minimis aid regulation, the total (ie, including the amount you are asking for from GGF+) must not exceed 200,000 Euros (about £160,000 at this point in time) in a rolling three year period (i.e. including the time of your proposed project).
As part of the application, the business will be required to make a formal declaration to the effect that the total of public funding received does not exceed this threshold.
For larger grant applications, ie those over £250,000, the money will be offered under GBER state-aid regulations. There are restrictions as to the amount of grant money that can be applied for in relation to the total project cost depending on size of business, location, purpose, and can be referred to as Intervention Rate. More details can be obtained from BIS and the guidance notes and prospectus on the GGF+ Portal.
The City Deal Partners have identified four industry sectors as strategic targets, being Marine and Supply Chain, Advanced Manufacturing, Digital, and Environmental Technologies, but 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 that are based in Cornwall, Somerset and Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay. Businesses located in the Local Authority areas of North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset are not able to apply for funding as these are not part of the Local Enterprise Partnership area covered by the Fund. Somerset refers to the Somerset County Council area and comprises the Local Authority Districts of South Somerset, West Somerset, Mendip, Sedgemoor and Taunton Deane only.
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 could provide 100% of a project's estimated costs under the Smaller Grants Scheme, 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 our 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.
In respect of the Larger Grants Scheme, as indicated above there are restrictions as to how much grant money can be made available depending on the GBER regulations. This can vary from 10% of the project costs, to 50% or higher, but would typically be between 10% - 25%
Applications will be appraised by a panel of experienced people from the investment and wider business communities.
The first grants are likely to be made in April of this year, and bids will be appraised on a rolling basis until August 2014, when the final awards will be made.
Click here to start working on your Expression of Interest: https://www.fotpms.plymouth.ac.uk/citydeal/login.asp
