A £2m fuding programme has been launched to help fund the growth of around 500 businesses across the Leeds City Region.
The Strategic Growth Programme will deliver support packages to SMEs across the region to allow them to overcome the challenges of the coronavirus crisis and Brexit.
It is open to firms located in Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield and York.
The new fund is being delivered by Oxford Innovation Services on behalf of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Martin Coats, director at Oxford Innovation Services, said: “All the media attention is on how big businesses are coping in the wake of Covid-19. It’s our job to look at how the smaller businesses (up to 250 employees) are doing and how they are utilising the support available to them, giving them access to expertise and funding to grow.
“We are delighted to be able to deliver this vital programme in the Leeds City Region and our aim is to support more than 500 companies over a two-year period to develop their growth opportunities.”
He added: “Helping small to medium-sized firms isn’t easy and you need a tailored approach, delivered by experts who know what it is like working with these challenges.
“Our growth managers have a long history of supporting SMEs meaning we understand them and the support required to drive local economic growth.
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“The Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), local growth hubs and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government have seen first-hand the value we add to firms through the Manufacturing Growth Programme and this has resulted in a further £2m commitment to support businesses until December 2022.”
Businesses that receive support from the programme will undergo an assessment from a tool called GROWTHmapper, which will measure the firm’s maturity and its growth potential. The tool will then create an action plan that will attempt to address the business’s barriers and opportunities, before a team of growth managers provide assistance to the company, including capital grants.
The Strategic Growth Programme is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and received £500,000 from the Leeds City Regaion LEP.
Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region LEP, said: “I am delighted that, through the LEP Business Support Service, we are continuing to support small, ambitious businesses at this difficult time.
“The Strategic Growth Programme is a significant opportunity for companies to benefit from expert advice and funding to achieve their growth potential. I’d encourage all businesses to get in touch to find out how they can improve performance and identify opportunities to grow and contribute to an inclusive, resilient economic recovery.”
Those interested in applying to the programme can do so online at the LEP’s website.