Grants to ease growing pains
FORTY high growth regional SMEs are to be targeted with grants of between £10,000 and £250,000 to help overcome problems in obtaining finance from outside investors, including banks.
The money is part of a new £1m European Union-backed investment aimed at businesses in disadvantaged areas of the North-east to help them over the economic downturn.
The Grant for Business Investment (GBI) will be delivered by One North East over the next two years and should create at least 60 new jobs and safeguard 60 more.
Drawn down from the European Regional Development Fund, it will encourage capital investment and enable businesses to make the step from development to production.
“This additional funding to provide more access to business finance for SMEs has arisen as a direct response to the recession,” explained One North East head of business investment Dr Simon Goon.
“Specifically, GBI can be used to offset difficulties that businesses face in obtaining capital, especially with the current risk averse nature of the financial markets and the limited collateral that SMEs are able to offer.”
