£20m available in latest phase of funding for business growth
THE Government has announced it is giving a £20.7m boost from the Regional Growth Fund to help companies in Yorkshire to flourish.
Since Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg launched the fund in 2010, a total of £280m has now been invested in 49 projects across Yorkshire and Humber, which will create or safeguard around 57,000 local jobs and attract around £1.7bn of further investment from the private sector.
Clegg said: “After decades of regional economies being neglected I set about investing directly in local businesses via the Regional Growth Fund. This investment has allowed regional businesses to be more ambitious than ever before and gone a long way in creating a stronger economy.
“A stronger economy means providing equal opportunity for everyone across the UK, rather than solely relying on the city of London to bolster UK business. The success of the RGF is proof that putting money in the hands of local businesses helps them flourish, and creates opportunities for more people to work locally.”
Ministers will be visiting RGF projects across England today to see how the fund is helping to rebalance the economy.
Lord Newby will visit glass bottle manufacturing plant Beatson Clark, which secured £1.7m in Round 4 to install a larger and more efficient bottle forming machine and a bulk palletiser for packing glass products at its Rotherham plant.
Finance Yorkshire has secured £10m from Round 6 of the fund.
Chief executive Alex McWhirter said: “This is excellent news and a tremendous boost for Yorkshire and the Humber. The grant will allow Finance Yorkshire to continue its vital investment work in providing gap finance to companies with viable and achievable business plans, allowing them to grow and expand and create jobs in the region.”
This RGF announcement follows the full investment of Finance Yorkshire’s £90m fund which saw 694 investments in businesses across Yorkshire and the Humber, creating and safeguarding 9,240 jobs and increasing overall turnover by £265m.
McWhirter added: “Our investments have already given businesses a timely boost which has led to substantial private sector investment and more employment opportunities being created. The RGF grant will further increase that effect and with growth firmly back on the business agenda, the economic impact of the new investment available should not be underestimated.”
Other bidders in Yorkshire and the Humber with conditional offers from Round 6 are:
BE Group (programme covering York, North Yorkshire and East Riding)
CS WIND UK (Hull)
Kemira Chemicals UK (Bradford)
