Regional Growth Fund: Making the most of available incentives

Date: 17th April 2012
Time: 12:30pm

The Regional Growth Fund for England is currently open for applications. This £1 billion programme can support the investment plans of private sector companies and/or public-private partnerships. £1.4 billion was awarded in 2011 to more than 170 recipients. This round of funding will close on 13 June 2012. This fund is likely to be the largest single opportunity to secure assistance in 2012.

You are invited to attend this workshop, run by Deloitte, to understand more about the scheme and how it may work for you. The workshop will be held on April 17th 2012 at 12:30pm. This event will last approximately one hour. There will be an opportunity to book a private briefing after the formal workshop.

The scheme in summary:

• It is designed to provide support for projects and programmes with significant potential for creating long term, private sector led economic growth and employment.
•  Priority is given to projects that will occur in areas of above average unemployment and/or locations currently dependent on the public sector for a high proportion of jobs.
•  A minimum of £1 million of assistance must be bid for, by either individual private sector companies or public-private partnerships across England. Assistance may be offered in the form of a grant, loan or loan guarantee, although most applicants to date have taken it as a non-repayable grant.

Project eligibility:

The scheme is available to support private sector companies with their investment plans and also public-private partnerships. Typical projects may include any of the following activities:

•  Research & Development
• Training
• Job creation/capital expenditure

Support could also be available to support infrastructure projects if the lack of funding can be shown to hold back private sector investment. In all cases, the project must involve either the potential to create new jobs in the future and/or a clear threat that some existing jobs may be lost to the UK if the project does not occur.

 What type of companies could be eligible?

The scheme is able to assist all sizes of companies, from small and medium through to multinationals with a project located in England.

 The timetable:

Applications for grant aid need to be approved before a project commences. The deadline for applications under this funding programme will be 13 June 2012. This means that, in order to make a strong submission in time, the project needs to be considered now. Once the deadline has passed, the Government plans to appraise bids within 50 days.