June 2021

WARWICKSHIRE MEANS BUSINESS

Adapt & Diversify scheme pumps another £884,709 into Warwickshire businesses

The second round of a grants scheme created by Warwickshire County Council to support businesses adversely affected by Covid-19 has awarded a further £884,709 to another 67 businesses.

This follows the award of £594,389 to 51 businesses in the first round of the Adapt and Diversify grants scheme earlier in the year.

This means that, through the two rounds of the scheme and a further £500,000 Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme loan, the council has pumped £2 million into the local economy.

The Adapt & Diversify scheme attracted a huge volume of applications, so staff in the council's Economy & Skills team and other departments of the council attached the highest priority to the programme and to processing application, so the funding could be made available as quickly as possible. The first payments from round two are now being made.

Applicants had to be able to demonstrate that they have been negatively affected by Covid-19, and that they have clear plans to adapt and diversify their business.

The scheme was set up to complement the various Government grants available via the district and borough councils. It provided grants of £5,000 towards the costs of accessing specialist external advice or up to £20,000 for projects which involve specialist advice and/or the purchase of equipment or the refurbishment of property.

It was open to all retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure businesses and certain identified businesses in their supply chains that have also been affected by Covid-19.

Both rounds of the scheme were overwhelmed with applications, the second round attracting 211 applications worth over £2.7 million, and the round had to be closed on the day it opened.

The Adapt & Diversify grants scheme followed on from  WCC’s successful Retail & Hospitality grant scheme which awarded £222,378 to 40 businesses in the summer of 2020.

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