New £1million round of Small Capital Grants programme is launched

"Our Small Capital Grants programme has been hugely successful in supporting micro and small businesses over the last seven years."

Warwickshire County Council is pleased to launch the 2022/23 round of its enduringly successful Small Capital Grants (SCG) programme.

Since 2015, the SCG programme has awarded over £2million to Warwickshire businesses as part of a £14 million package of finance, loans and grants for Warwickshire businesses.

The SCG programme has already created more than 200 jobs around the county.

The latest round of Small Capital Grants funding, which is worth £1 million after a recent Portfolio Holder decision to allocate additional funding to support the programme, has an increased intervention rate of 40%. The intervention rate is how much grant WCC puts towards the total eligible cost of the project.

The scheme will provide grant support of between £5,000 and £35,000 for eligible micro and small enterprises.

Warwickshire County Council leader, Cllr Izzi Seccombe said: "Our Small Capital Grants programme has been hugely successful in supporting micro and small businesses over the last seven years.

"The programme is at the heart of our ongoing commitment to help ensure that Warwickshire's amazing breadth of small businesses continue to employ so many people and power our communities.

"I am delighted that its latest round is now open and encourage all appropriate businesses to get in touch to find out whether we can support them."

A micro-enterprise is a business with fewer than 10 employees whose annual turnover or balance sheet does not exceed €2 million (about £1.6 million). A small business is one with fewer than 50 employees whose annual turnover or balance sheet does not exceed €10 million (about £7.9 million). Relationships with other enterprises are taken into account when determining whether these criteria are met.

Applicants must be based in Warwickshire or looking to locate here and be able to demonstrate significant growth potential. This is defined as an existing business seeking to increase turnover by 20% over the next three years or a new start-up forecasting to employ three more staff or generate £300,000 annual turnover within three years.

Applicants must usually have a minimum of 12 months of proven trading history, however start-up businesses with significant growth potential and trading history will be considered. Priority will be given to businesses with the ambition and characteristic to scale-up.

Priority will also be given to applications from businesses in the following priority sectors for Warwickshire:

• Advanced manufacturing and engineering;
• Creative industries;
• Digital media and gaming;
• Connected and Autonomous Vehicles;
• Low carbon technologies;
• Professional services;
• Tourism and culture.
• Early-Stage Businesses

Businesses interested in applying will be offered assistance with the application process.

For more information or to register an interest in receiving support, please email business@warwickshire.gov.uk For more information about the small capital grants programme, please visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/directory-record/1/warwickshire-county-council-growth-fundsmall-capital-grants

The Small Capital Grants is part of a package of finance, loans and grants including the Coventry and Warwickshire Duplex Fund, a range of economic recovery loan and grant schemes, and the new £140 million Warwickshire Recovery and Investment Fund (WRIF).

For more information, please visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/homepage/360/finance-loans-and-grants