New grants of £10,000 to £40,000 for Gloucestershire businesses

A new funding support programme has been launched by a partnership involving Gloucestershire College which will give small and medium-sized county businesses access to £1 million of grant funding.

Andy Bates, the vice principal and chief financial officer for the college, has called the grant money ‘a catalyst for growth, innovation and progression’ for businesses in the county and called on firms to ‘innovate’.

The college is working with UWE Bristol and NatWest on what is being called Scale Up 4 Growth (S4G), which will see grants of between £10,000 and £40,000 available.

Mr Bates said: ‘Our job at Gloucestershire College is to help local businesses to grow.

‘For years, Gloucestershire College has been enabling this growth as the go-to training provider for employers in the county to develop their staff, hire new talent and strengthen their organisation with quality training.

‘The S4G scheme has already been a great success in the West of England.

‘There is no doubt that the last year has been challenging for businesses but we are committed to helping Gloucestershire come back stronger. This is the time to innovate and I urge employers to use the S4G scheme to level up for their future.’

Professor Martin Boddy, pro vice-chancellor for research and enterprise at UWE Bristol, said: ‘This programme aims to stimulate the regional economy at such an important time by helping companies to realise their potential.

‘The S4G programme in the West of England has supported over 80 companies, giving out £850,000 of grant and created 150 jobs. Gloucestershire is full of innovation and we are thrilled to be able to bring this scheme to the region.’

The programme, funded through the European Regional Development Fund, is open to businesses in any sector with ambitious growth plans.

Applicants must be small or medium sized enterprises and based in the Gloucestershire LEP Region: Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Stroud and Cotswolds.

Dedicated support from a team of experts at UWE Bristol will be given to help businesses develop project ideas and submit grant applications.

Applications for funding will close on Wednesday 5 May 2021. For more information and to register your interest, visit scaleup4growth.co.uk.

By Andrew Merrell

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