business opportunities
Important Information For All South East Based Members
SEEDA has made available a special package of help measures for companies in its region struggling to deal with the vagaries of the ‘credit crunch’. There are full details in this downloadable PDF. If you are looking for financial support, there are a number of schemes now available as part of central government’s push to help small businesses – not simply with advice, but with cash or extended loan agreement periods. It is its way of reducing the effects of the credit crunch by providing businesses taking up these financial packages with a means of developing and taking advantage of the favourable position the UK has at the moment as an exporter.
Central government has expressly asked for regional governments such as SEEDA to provide loans from a £3million fund up to the value of £150,000 for high growth businesses that may be having trouble securing finances from the commercial sector. As of the end of January 2009, only half a million has been allocated, so if your business could do with the help, make an application.
Initial terms are up to 12 months before pay back and there is no capital repayment or interest payments until maturity. Interest is added at a rate of 1% per month.
The Transition Loans are available from Finance South East and if you wish to apply you will need to demonstrate sound, steady development of your core business in your sector over the last three years. If your turnover is more that £1million pa and less than £35million pa, you will probably be eligible (although a small number of business sectors are excluded from applying). Contact Finance South East for full details.
Grants for Business Investment
This is the new version of the SFIE grant that was available from SEEDA. GBI replaced SFIE in September last year as well as being extended to the whole of the SEEDA region.
Although some 36 applications have been made in the last quarter for the new GBI, at the moment no company has taken up the offer. This means that there is still plenty of money left in the fund for new applications. For full details of how to make an application, please download the PDF.
Don't forget that there are R&D grants available thorughout the region too and if you need any help in making an application, contact Tom Fourcade (CEO) or David Porter (EEM) of EnviroBusiness for an informal chat of the best way to proceed.
If you would like to contact us regarding your membership or about the newsletter or alert service, please email pete.bresser@envirobusiness.co.uk
