Close Brothers distributes £30m to SMEs

95% of the funds from Close Brothers were deployed outside London and the South East, with 22% going to SMEs in the North East, 21% in the Midlands and 21% in the North West.
 
The RGF awards grants to small and medium sized businesses, supporting private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment across the English regions.
 

Managing Director of the Broker Division at Close Brothers Asset Finance, Brian Dhenin said:

“I’m very pleased and proud to announce that we have allocated all of the funds we were awarded in round three of the Regional Growth Fund, helping nearly 800 SMEs across the country to achieve their goals.
 
“The £30 million we’ve distributed has in turn created over £195 million in investment, enabling small businesses to create more than 2000 jobs and to safeguard an additional 1,279 jobs.
 
“We’ve guided all those businesses through the application process, and have witnessed first hand just how much of a positive impact an RGF grant can have. The importance the scheme is having in terms of supporting SMEs and therefore our future economic growth can’t be underestimated,” he said.
 
Close Brothers Asset Finance was also awarded a further £40 million in round five of the RGF.
 
Brian Dhenin added: “With RGF funds still in the pot, we are actively encouraging more businesses to consider it as a platform for growth while these funds are still available.”
 
The size of the grant awarded is based on the level of proposed investment, the size and location of the business, and the number of full time posts being created or retained. For every one job created or retained, a grant of up to £10,000 is awarded - up to a maximum of 20% of the proposed investment.