Partner Article

Liverpool City Region LEP programme boosting business and supporting jobs

Support from the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Local Authority administered Business Growth Grant programme is helping 17 businesses to generate and secure over 800 jobs in the City Region.

The LEP asserts that grants totalling almost £4 million are leveraging a further £24.5 million in private sector investment funding projects as diverse as expanded production facilities, software upgrades and the purchase of new machinery.

The grants range in size from £830,000 to just under £60,000 and are the first to be provided to businesses from a £15 million Programme funded through the Government’s Regional Growth Fund which was secured by the LEP, in partnership with the six Local Authorities, for 2013 and 2014.

Companies benefitting from the grants include those operating in aerospace, automotive and food production sectors drawn from across the City Region. They included 17 companies in total which received grants totalling £3,985,381.

In total 403 new jobs will be created with a further 409 existing jobs being secured through these projects alone. The Programme is expected to support approximately 2,000 jobs when completed.

Chair of the Liverpool City Region LEP, Robert Hough said: “The delivery of economic growth in the City Region is the key purpose of the LEP and these grants are just one part of our arsenal.

“The grants are designed to unlock private sector investment in the region and it is clear that this round of funding has delivered on that objective.

“We scrutinise the bids we receive with our Local Authority partners to ensure they are going to have a positive economic impact and would urge businesses looking to invest to contact as soon as possible as the majority of the funding is now allocated on this Programme.”

A Business Growth Grant can fund between 10 and 20 per cent of a project and can include capital expenditure such as new plant, equipment, buildings, or adaptations; investment in new technologies; systems; software and training aid.

Funding remains in the Business Growth Grant Programme to assist similar projects.

Details of how to apply can be found at the LEP website - http://www.liverpoollep.org/opportunities/business_growth_grant.aspx

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .