Businesses looking for financial backing to help them expand are being invited to bid into a £6m Nottinghamshire County Council growth fund, which re-opens from Monday, 30th January.

The Nottinghamshire Economic Development Capital Fund (NEDCF), which aims to boost economic growth and job creation, will welcome new applications from small and medium sized businesses in the county.

The fund was first launched in April 2014. So far, it has:
•Provided £3.5m in funding to over 30 businesses
•Created 375 new jobs and safeguarded a further 400 jobs
•Levered in an additional £20.5m in other public or private funding

Around £2.5m of the fund still remains and applications are being invited for a new round of grants up until Monday, 6th March.

Types of projects the NEDCF could support include land or property developments for an individual company’s expansion and the purchasing of new equipment and machinery to support growth.

Grants of between £20,000 and £250,000 are available to invest in capital projects for businesses that can demonstrate how they will create or secure sustainable jobs. The maximum grant available depends on how much is allowed under State Aid rules about how much public money can be used to support a particular business.

There is a target for 85% of all the new jobs created through the NEDCF to be paid at, or in excess of, the Living Wage Foundation hourly rate of £8.45 per hour.

Full details about the fund, criteria and application forms are now available from the County Council’s website at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/capitalfund

Councillor Diana Meale, chairman of Economic Development Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council – which created and oversees the NEDCF – said: “Severe and on-going Government funding cuts are negatively impacting Council services but we are determined that it should not be at the expense of our support for local businesses, local jobs and the local economy.

“We have pledged to continue making job creation and growth in Nottinghamshire a top priority, demonstrated by our substantial, on-going financial backing to businesses keen to realise their potential in Nottinghamshire.
“I have visited many of the companies we have supported through grants and seen for myself the positive difference it is making to those firms and the new and existing people who work there.

“In many cases, the NEDCF has been the final element of their funding package, clinching an extra £7 in external investment for every £1 contributed by the fund, which is fantastic news for the local economy.”