15th April 2018

Cheshire and Warrington SME Grant Programme Extended

We are delighted to announce that the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub, managed by Blue Orchid, is launching a second round of its highly successful SME Growth Grants.

These grants support small and medium sized businesses to implement bespoke projects and investments that can unlock their growth potential. The grants are designed to help build capability, improve efficiency and productivity as well as support expansion into new markets and sectors.

The grants will:

  • Provide between £1,000 – £18,000 grant to SMEs in the Cheshire and Warrington area
  • Provide up to a 35% contribution towards the cost of the project
  • Help stimulate additional jobs being created within the business
  • Support businesses when implementing growth activities such as integrating new software such as CRM, MRP, ERP systems
  • Develop new growth strategies
  • Improve marketing and sales processes and activities
  • Assist in gaining internationally recognised standards and accreditations such as ISO, etc.

The flexibility of the grants enables companies to procure services that best fit their requirements and are designed fill gaps in provision from other publicly funded support programmes available in Cheshire.

Since September 2016 the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub, operated by Blue Orchid, has provided Growth Grants to over 50 small and medium sized enterprises. A further 200 SMEs have received free access to specialist, independent consultancy support. This has not only led to the development and launch of 30 new products and services but also the creation of more than 50 new jobs along with investment of more than £700,000 in growing local businesses. Grant recipients and the supplier community, 77% of whom themselves have been Cheshire SMEs, have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback for the programme.

The additional funding for the second round of SME Growth Grants was made available by the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This resulted from the successful delivery of the first phase of the SME Growth Grant Programme. The additional funding will extend the service to the end of 2018.

For more information on the Grant Programme or to discuss what business support services are available, contact the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub on 03300 245 007 or Click Here to visit the local services page.

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