North West businesses can bid for a share of £200 million, the Deputy Prime Minister will announce today as he launches round six of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF).
The Government is investing £460 million from the first five rounds of the Regional Growth Fund in the North West, which is supporting 84 projects and programmes across the region, to create and safeguard thousands of jobs and stimulate £2.5 billion of private sector investment.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
"The Regional Growth Fund is a helping hand from Government to create thousands of jobs that last, boost the private sector and rebalance the economy.
"I’ve seen first hand at electrical cable manufacturer Tratos Limited in Merseyside how the fund is supporting businesses that are working hard to fuel our recovery and help us build a stronger economy.
"I would encourage any businesses that can generate significant private sector investment and sustainable jobs to bid for a share of the £200 million available from the fund.”
Round six will be open to private sector bidders seeking £1 million or more. The Government is calling on companies to plan high quality projects that will generate significant private sector investment and sustainable jobs. Businesses will be able to submit their bids until noon on 30 September 2014.
Companies in the North West that have already had support from the RGF include:
- Tratos Limited, a UK cable manufacturing business, used their RGF grant of £2.96 million to expand and create and safeguard jobs for more than 100 people. The company is investing in a new manufacturing plant to produce medium voltage cables, extending the portfolio of products manufactured by the company in the UK.
Dr Maurizio Bragagni, CEO of Tratos Ltd, said "Being awarded this substantial sum of money from the RGF provides us with the means to modernise further and expand our operations, helping to secure Tratos’ future here.”
- Glen Dimplex Home Appliances, based in Prescot, Merseyside, was awarded a £3 million RGF grant in the latest round of RGF funding. The company, a consumer electrical goods firm, will use the grant to expand production on Merseyside, creating hundreds of new jobs, boosting the local economy and delivering millions in private investment in the process.
- Patterson and Rothwell Ltd in Oldham used their £1.7 million RGF funding to invest in a plastic injection press technology, which will help the company target overseas markets and expand their investment in R&D facilities. The company, which was founded in 1981 and has now been able to consolidate activities on a single site in Royton, aims to create or safeguard 88 jobs in manufacturing and engineering.
To help bidders on their applications, road shows and expression of interest days will be held throughout the country from today to provide advice on how to make a successful bid. On July 23 an event will be held at Manchester Town Hall.
The Deputy Prime Minister will make the announcement at the Manufacturing Summit in Merseyside today, where he will speak to business leaders and manufacturers.
The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, and Business Minister Michael Fallon, will also speak at the Summit.
Vince Cable said:
"The Regional Growth Fund is a fundamental part of our efforts to boost manufacturing and rebalance the economy, helping to create new jobs in the North West. Round six is now open for applications and I urge businesses to see how it can help them to increase their workforce or expand to new markets.”
Business Minister Michael Fallon said:
"Through the Regional Growth Fund, we are investing £460 million in the North West, which will help growing businesses create long-term, highly skilled jobs.”
Notes to editors
1. The Regional Growth Fund is a flexible and competitive fund operating across England. It supports projects and programmes that are using private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment.
2. Round six of the Regional Growth Fund opens today and will close to applications on 30 September 2014 at noon.
4. Applicants should be aware of the EU state aid changes which take effect on 1 July 2014. You can find out more information at
https://www.gov.uk/state-aid
5. To keep up to date on further RGF developments please follow us on Twitter: @RGFGrowthFund
11. The Government's economic policy objective is to achieve 'strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.' It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’, published at Budget 2011:
- to create the most competitive tax system in the G20
- to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
- to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
- to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.