More funding has been allocated for the Grants4Growth scheme.
South Holland District Council distributes the government grants to help businesses.
And another £1.85m has been allocated to the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, of which the authority is a member alongside Boston and East Lindsey.
The grants available are for between £1,000 and £24,999 (or 30 per cent of the total eligible cost).
There are three types of grant available, ranging from £1,000 to £24,999 (or 30 per cent of the total eligible cost), which can be used towards increasing capacity, finding new markets and boosting productivity.
This could be through capital costs, such as machinery or equipment, and revenue expenditure, whether it’s training, marketing or digital support.
The third option will give smaller businesses (employing five or fewer employees) looking to spend up to £5,000 the opportunity to apply for grants that can cover up to 50 per cent of both capital and revenue purchases to a maximum of £2,500.
Additionally, there is now a new Business Advice Team on hand to provide free guidance to firms looking to grow, offering advice around sales development, productivity, manufacturing, HR issues and other challenges which business can face.
Coun Paul Redgate portfolio holder for Finance, Commercialisation, Levelling Up and UK Shared Prosperity Funding at South Holland District Council, said: “This is an ideal opportunity for all of our local businesses to apply and to encourage them to think about areas of growth.
“Under the new Grants4Growth model, this funding comes at an ideal time for our businesses to look at ways and opportunities for them to improve and enhance their current offerings.
“I would ask all SMEs within the district to consider applying and to look at growing business through either capital or revenue projects. Whilst funding is limited to a maximum of circa £25,000, this shouldn’t limit business aspirations.”
The programme will run until March 2025 but funding must be allocated before the end of December 2024.
To be eligible to apply for a grant a business must:
lBe classed as an entity involved in economic activity and must have been trading for at least 12 months.
lTrade through a Business Bank Account.
lBe classed as a Small or Medium sized enterprise (SME). This means it must have less than 250 employees, a turnover of less than £40 million and a balance sheet of less than £35 million.
lNot be more than 25 per cent owned by a larger company and if the business is part of a group then all parents and subsidiaries must be included when calculating number of employees, turnover and balance sheet totals.
lHave premises located in East Lindsey, Boston or South Holland and any equipment purchased with help of a grant must be homed in this area too.
