£20M AVAILABLE IN NEW GRANTS TO HELP SMEs ACCESS PROFESSIONAL ADVICE Chris Tate 25 August 2020 Share On the 19th August, it was announced by the Chancellor that there would be more grants available to help them get back on their feet from the impact of the Coronavirus crisis. The scheme will dispense grants of £1,000 - £5,000 to small and medium sized businesses and this can be used to help businesses to access professional services advice from accountants, HR experts and lawyers. It can also be used to purchase new technology and equipment. Services can be fully funded through the scheme and there is no obligation for businesses to contribute financially. Who has provided the funds for the scheme? £20m has been made available for the scheme and this has been provided by the European Regional Development Fund and has been allocated to your Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Hubs. The Growth Hubs work across the country, with local and national, public and private sector partners, including: the Chambers of Commerce, FSB, universities, Enterprise Zones and banks. This scheme is being provided to address businesses immediate needs and the grants must be awarded by 28th February 2021 and with all activity fully completed by 31 March 2021. Andrew Coldwell, Group Managing Partner of Moore South said: “As the economy begins to recover from the Coronavirus lockdown, owner managed businesses will need to protect their business and also their team by adapting to the ‘new normal’. Whilst it may be tough to adapt, the new normal could bring a lot of opportunities for businesses to begin to grow and thrive again –that’s why this scheme is important. The scheme will be able to provide further support to owner managed businesses at such a crucial time. Whether it is for legal advice, accountancy advice or support with new IT and technologies. This scheme is an enormous benefit to owner managed businesses who may be struggling and in turn could save jobs and livelihoods further down the line.” Are you looking for advice to access these small to medium sized grants? CONTACT US. business adviceBusiness outsourcingBusiness supportBusiness support & outsourcingcoronaviruscoronavirus;Owner managed businessOwner managed businesses CONTACT US