The North East LEP region has been awarded £2.4 million of ERDF funding to support SMEs to recover from Covid19.  If you have been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic you could be eligible to apply for grants between  £1,000 to £3,000 to access one to one expert advice on any financial/business/people projects you have in mind. 

The grant rate is 100% but you would have to make full payment for the support and claim the grant back. Essentially this means free services to you (other than the VAT cost).

Here’s what you need to do:

The second round of funding was released last week and their website crashed due to the volume of interest, so applications have been suspended.  Instead they are going to operate a ballot system. A  simple form will be made available for 36 hours for businesses to provide them with high level information – they will be asking for this information in phases and in individual local authority areas. There will then be a random selection where an agreed number of businesses will be asked to complete a more detailed Expression of Interest.

There is expected to be a great demand for these grants,  so it’s time to act now and get in touch with us via ba@robson-laidler.co.uk  to arrange a call to discuss any type of financial and business support you need to rebuild and thrive following the pandemic.  We will work with you to create a bespoke solution and of course will assist you with the funding application. 

Some examples of what we can offer via our Freedom to Restart and Recover services:

  • Health Check to see what areas of your business need attention and action
  • 27 action plan to profit improvement
  • Cashflow forecasting so you are aware of your business’ health and address any corrective action
  • Financial projections and strategies to get to where you want to be
  • Access to our online learning, training and coaching platform
  • Business Intelligence Dashboards to give you valuable insight into the various areas of your business to recognise what’s working well and what isn’t
  • Coaching and Accountability catchups at a frequency you choose to ensure strategies are being implemented and improvements actioned
  • Motivational Mapping – identify, nurture and report on the intrinsic motivation of you and your team and find strategies to help raise engagement, encourage teamwork and improve individual and business performance
  • Adoption of online accountancy and financial software and apps to drive efficiencies, including systems reviews

All cost for bespoke projects will be between £1,000 – £3,000 and so will be fully-funded.

The dates and times of the local authority ballots and eligibility criteria are set out here in the link here

Get in touch with us to discuss how we can help you get funding for our restart and recovery support services: ba@robson-laidler.co.uk