West Midlands submits £410m of bids to latest round of RGF

BIDS together worth £410m have been put forward from West Midlands in the third round of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.

In all, 57 bids have been submitted from the region out of 409 nationally that are competing for a share of £1bn.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “The Regional Growth Fund is already helping companies across the country grow their businesses and create jobs that last.

“£1.4bn has already been allocated to 176 businesses, which are expected to create and protect up to 328,000 jobs. So far 96 of these businesses have started accessing their funding, and many projects have started their projects while they wait for a final offer.

“This third round will continue to create jobs by unlocking private sector investment, letting businesses in Britain thrive.”

The bids will be considered by a panel led by Lord Heseltine which will make recommendations to Ministers with the successful projects announced in the autumn.

Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk said: “The high number of applications for round three of the Regional Growth Fund is really encouraging. Despite the uncertainty in the financial markets concerning the Eurozone, the Regional Growth Fund has still recorded over 400 bids from a wide range of projects.

“Initial indications show that Round Three bids could deliver similar levels of private sector leverage to previous rounds, approximately £6 for every £1 of taxpayers’ money.”

Engineering and sustainable technology projects in the West Midlands were the main beneficiaries of Round Two of the RGF settlements.

BIS agreed to fund 20 projects in the region provided they passed the Government’s due diligence tests to ensure they could deliver on what they bid for.

The projects, if delivered, will create more than 33,000 jobs – 3,900 directly and 29,800 indirectly.