Growth Hub Funding
Funding of between £1,000 and £5,000 is available to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in England via their local Growth Hubs. This can be accessed through the Local Enterprise Network at https://www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/
The support will be fully funded by the UK Government with no obligation for businesses to contribute financially. The grants are available to allow businesses in all sectors to access professional fees, such as HR, accountants, legal, financial, Health & Safety, 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 response to COVID-19.
All grants must be awarded by 28th February 2021, however demand is expected to be high for these grants and applicants will need to be quick in applying. Contact your local Growth Hub now to assess when applications can be made in your area. Some Growth Hubs have still to release funding, whilst others have already released funding but have a second phase of funding applications opening in mid-September 2020.
Eligibility Criteria are set out on each Growth Hub. However common eligibility criteria are as follows:
Be able to demonstrate that the business has been adversely impacted by COVID19
Be based in the local Growth Hub area
Must have been trading prior to 1st March 2020 and still be actively trading
The grant rate is 100%, but businesses will have to make the initial payment for the support or purchase and claim the grant back. The VAT element of any support or purchase is not eligible for grant support.
Examples of some eligible expenditure include:
Review of business strategy
Strategic review of business models
Mitigating the impact of social distancing measures
Rebuilding a viable business model
HR, financial, legal advice or environmental health compliance
Introduction of new technology
Employee engagement, welfare and wellbeing
Developing or revising marketing strategies to reach new markets
These grants cannot be used to:
Support businesses with working capital
Support businesses to fund the payment of wages
Purchase equipment and consumables associated with PPE and social distancing measures
Fund building work
Fund training
Fund retrospective activity or purchases
Purchase capital items over £5,000
The grant cannot be used to part fund expenditure. The grant must cover 100% of the service that your business is procuring (up to a maximum value of £5,000). Suppliers of services may require to be based in your local Growth Hub area.