Within weeks of launching, Cambridgeshire’s Growth Works fund has awarded more than £2m to 32 businesses across the county.
Distributed by the recently established Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Business Growth Company, the grant funding is forecast to create 321 new jobs while stimulating £11.184 million in capital expenditure.
Grants have been awarded region-wide and across a wide range of sectors including automotive, electronics, engineering, financial services, healthcare, hospitality, leisure, manufacturing, retail and transport.
Grants awarded ranged from £20,000 to £150,000 and applications were assessed against criteria which included quantitative value for money and qualitative elements.
The quality scores were assessed on points based on geographical location, sector diversification, strategic alignment, social inclusion and apprenticeship utilisation.
All projects to received grant funding are forecast to complete by April 2022.
Company chairman Nigel Parkinson said: “With the economy beginning to open up and businesses looking to the future with growing certainty, these grants are being award at a time when they will have the most impact.
“Each capital grant award will be a catalyst for growth, the funding will enable all 32 businesses to create good secure jobs right across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough at a time when we know he labour market has been challenging.”
He was particularly pleased to see Growth Works supporting a very diverse group of businesses across a multitude of sectors, giving enterprises in all areas of the economy the support they needed to build back better quickly and strongly.
“The success of this grant scheme sets the standard for Growth Works and the Growth Company will be ensuring these high levels of impact are maintained over the next three years,” he added.
Austen Adams, chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Business Board, said it was now time to turn attention to helping those hardest hit (by the pandemic) to make a strong local recovery.
“The businesses supported by Growth Works have all demonstrated their potential to grow and the funding will help them enact their deliverable scale-up strategies,” he said.
“The Business Board is looking forward to working with Growth Works to ensure their investments support and complement our Local Economic Recovery Strategy.
“Together we can support SMEs and larger businesses to invest in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and improve opportunities for local people.”