Greater Birmingham LEP offers firms help with funding
BUSINESSES across the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area are being given help accessing the finance which will help to grow their companies.
The LEP is hosting an event at Villa Park tomorrow which brings together dozens of loans, grants and investment funds. The various streams cover financing opportunities of anywhere between £10,000 and £1m.
Organised in partnership with business networking group Finditinbirmingham, the breakfast event takes place between 6.45am and 9.30am.
Among the speakers and exhibitors will be Finance Birmingham and the Aston Reinvestment Trust and there will also be the opportunity for firms to book one-to-one consultations with fund managers.
GBSLEP schemes on offer include the Growing Places fund for development projects, the £100m Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) and the Business Development Programme (BDP) which offers grants of between £10,000 and £15,000 to growing businesses in the LEP.
Paul Heaven, GBSLEP Board Director with responsibility for access to finance, said: “This event will be an excellent opportunity for businesses to come and see a range of different access to finance initiatives.
“Many businesses in the LEP area are in need of an injection of capital in order to finance growth and we will be explaining the variety of sources available including business angel investors, non-bank lending, alternative finance, grants, loans and mainstream options.
“There is a quite a range of support on offer, from smaller grants worth between £10,000 and £15,000 from the BDP to up to £1 million from the Finance Birmingham Birmingham City Council loan fund.”
Many of the initiatives and funds involved at the event are featured on the GBSLEP’s Central Business Portal, which was launched last year to provide a one-stop shop for LEP companies who are looking for support.
“While the LEP has finance available, there are a host of other providers and organisations who are providing similar schemes. The Portal is an excellent way to find out what is available,” added Mr Heaven.
Firms wishing to attend can register at www.finditinbirmingham.com
