Coming soon: Business recovery grants for Lancashire firms

Businesses in Lancashire can contact Boost to signal their interest in receiving a share of the Government’s £20m grant funding to help them get back on track following the coronavirus pandemic.

Small and medium sized businesses in England will be able to access grants between £1,000 and £3,000 for new equipment, technology and specialist advice to aid their recovery.

The funding was announced on Thursday (July 30) by Simon Clarke MP, Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government. Grants will be fully funded by the government from the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and distributed through growth hubs.

The announcement builds on a £10 million package announced earlier this month to help to kickstart the tourism industry and support the visitor economy. Funding for both grants will be delivered in Lancashire from September and Boost is currently in the process of developing a formal application system.

However, Lancashire companies can now register their interest in both grants via the contact page on the Boost website. They will then be contacted in due course to progress their application if they are eligible.

Further information:

• Grants will be available for tourism businesses, in addition to businesses from the wider economy.
• Grants for the wider economy will be £1,000 to £3,000 (although there may be a possibility of grants of up to £5,000 in exceptional circumstances)
• There must be evidence of need and businesses must be able to demonstrate how they have been affected by Covid-19.
• Grants can fund specialist support, including accountancy, marketing, HR and finance as well as small capital items for digital solutions or specialist equipment.
• PPE and items to help with social distancing are not included and funding cannot cover a company’s day to day running costs.
• Boost and Lancashire County Council are currently seeking further clarity on eligibility requirements
• Ineligible sectors include fishery and aquaculture, primary production (e.g farming) processing and marketing of agricultural products, the coal, steel and shipbuilding sectors, synthetic fibres sector, establishments providing generalised (school age) education, banking and insurance companies/brokers and nuclear related activity.

Businesses can also sign up to receive regular updates about Boost support and events by signing up to our monthly newsletter.