As a result of the successful delivery of an original £10.3 million business support programme, small and medium sized business manufacturers have been given a major boost this week.
Using the funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) that aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion, the Solent LEP has contributed to an additional £11.8 million of business support. This new pot will help a further 2,400 companies to grow and develop.
The Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP) that is delivered by the Economic Growth Solutions part of Oxford Innovation, has already supported more than 2,000 small and medium sized business (SME) manufacturers across England since October 2016. It has helped them to make improvements by identifying, understanding and removing barriers to growth.
More than 3,200 new jobs have been created as a result of the support provided by experienced Manufacturing Growth Managers, access to industry specialists and the opportunity to apply for improvement grants.
Since April 2019, support has been used for an array of advancement projects such as continuous improvements, change, environmental and sustainability, leadership and management, marketing, people and skills, productivity and capacity, quality and strategy.
The additional funds aim to provide a more valuable and quality level of support from a dedicated Local Growth Manager. A more in-depth business diagnostic and action plan is also provided as part of the support alongside an improvement grant.
Martin Coats, Operations Director of Oxford Innovation.
“Working with the Local Enterprise Partnerships and local Growth Hubs to continually add value to SME manufacturing businesses across the country has resulted in their commitment to support us for another two and a half years.”
MGP previously covered a large proportion of the country, and this extension will now be able to support those in the Enterprise M3 and Solent regions.
If you’re a manufacturing SME, we’d love to find out more about your business and discuss how we can support you to achieve your growth plans.
For further information, please call our Growth Hub Team on 023 9268 8055 or email us on enquiries@solentlep.org.uk