Make the most of business support on offer

Argyll and Bute Council is urging local business owners to take advantage of the Business Gateway Local Growth Accelerator Programme before it concludes at the end of this year.

For businesses seeking support to grow, or recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic, this programme can provide fully funded specialist advice and grant funding.

Whilst the impact of the pandemic has led some businesses to change their focus, others are pressing ahead with ambitious growth plans and have turned to the council for support.

A growth grant from the programme of between £1,000 and £5,000 can cover 50 per cent of costs for projects linked to business growth.

In addition, businesses can also access grants from £250 up to £1,500 (50 per cent of costs) to support training, accreditation or attendance at trade fairs. Since 2017, 108 businesses have received support from the programme worth a total of almost £595,000.

When they registered for the programme, the combined turnover of these businesses was more than £19.4 million, with a total of 313 employees.

Despite the Covid pandemic, two-thirds of these assisted businesses have grown since receiving support, reporting a combined turnover increase of more than £7.7m and an additional 98 employees.

The programme also provides specialist help from subject experts includes up to two days of free advice on human resources, ecommerce, marketing, PR, growth strategy, finance, exporting and tendering. Recently grant and expert help support has been extended to assist not just businesses looking to grow, but to those looking to recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic.

Anyone wanting to discuss their eligibility should visit www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/bglgap or talk to a Business Gateway adviser on 01546 604555. A Business Gateway adviser will work with businesses registered for the programme to develop a growth plan and access relevant support.

Worth a total of £855,239, the programme is funded by the council and the European Regional Development Fund under the 2014-2020 Structural Funds Programmes.

Business Gateway also provides a comprehensive programme of webinars, access to both local business advisers and subject experts, information, guides and signposting of funding opportunities to help anyone looking to help their business start, survive or grow.

Find out more at www.bgateway.com.