E - Capital Assistance to Business Growth

Above: Chef Akila Ltd, an Indian ready meal manufacturer, was awarded a grant to help fit out new premises in Keighley. The firm also bought equipment and employed new kitchen staff, and was able to work more closely with suppliers as productivity increased.

Above: Print and design business Fretwell Print and Design, of Goulbourne Street in Keighley pictured with their new Kyocera 4 colour inkjet machine, partly funded by the Capital Assistance To Business Growth Programme.

Value

£2m

Purpose

The Keighley and Shipley Towns Fund Business Growth Programme is designed to help new businesses start-ups, small and medium-sized businesses and large businesses based in or looking to locate into the Keighley and Shipley Towns Fund area. The funding is available to either expand, bring unused space back into use, increase productivity, create new businesses, safeguard existing jobs and/or create new jobs.

The grant may be used for

• The purchase of capital equipment, machinery, or tools.
• Property development, property improvement and capital cost to make alterations to land and/or premises to meet the growing needs of the business.
• Fixtures and fittings where appropriate and applicable for business needs.
• In certain circumstances applications may be considered for grant assistance for accounting software, CRM system, POS system, stock control systems, websites or other software systems. Justification will be required of the value of the software to the business alongside supporting the key aims and objectives of the grant fund. Grant contribution towards funding of software and any subscription cost will be entirely at the discretion of the grant panel.
• Website hosting costs are not eligible for this fund.

Position up to April 2024

Keighley - A total of 66 Expressions of Interest received, of which 15 were rejected, with 22 applications received. Based on the number of applications and anticipated grant amounts of pending applications, the total grant amount is £972,984 with a private sector match of £6,399,406 and 84 jobs to be created.

Project sponsor

Bradford Council – Invest in Bradford

Further information

For further information on this project contact Michelle.Rushworth@bradford.gov.uk.