£49m funding allocated to SMEs in Yorkshire

14,800 businesses have received a share of almost £49m over the last five years through the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) business support service.

Working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the LEP has also unlocked a further £339million of private sector investment, and has delivered over 24,000 support interventions, including providing access to over 100 different types of business support, either from the LEP itself or its partners – resulting in the creation of over 9,000 jobs in the region.

As the service enters a new phase, the LEP is now playing a vital role in helping firms meet the challenges presented by Covid-19.

From March to May, the service saw an 80 per cent increase in the number of enquiries it received compared to the same period in 2019, with cash-flow and access to finance the biggest concerns raised.

In response, the LEP has put in place a range of newly-adapted programmes to help small to medium enterprises navigate the crisis, including funding to invest in new equipment, and online digital skills training for furloughed staff. Plans are also underway to launch a new scheme to make it easier for SMEs to purchase new technology to adapt to remote working and trading.

Roger Marsh OBE DL, Chair of the LEP and NP11 said: “The LEP has a strong track record in championing SMEs and the number of businesses we have supported in the last five years is testament to that.

“As we play a key role in supporting the region’s response to and recovery from Covid-19 we are doing all we can to make sure the right measures are put in place to help our region’s businesses through this unprecedented challenge so that we can build a more successful, sustainable and inclusive economy.”

Andrew Wright, Chair of the LEP Business Innovation and Growth Panel said: “I’ve seen how the LEP has expanded the service in these tough times to help businesses hit by the Coronavirus crisis. Given the scale of the challenge that businesses are facing, its work will continue to provide vital support to all in the region, protecting and helping to create jobs for the next five years.”

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