Capital Investment Grants (SFIE)
The Agency provides capital
investment grants to businesses that are undertaking
investment projects but need financial help to go ahead.
Known as Selective Finance for Investment, these
grants are available for projects in certain qualifying areas
of the region (called Assisted Areas). Businesses of all sizes
are eligible to apply and are assessed against specific
criteria.
Assistance is provided to:
- Launch a new business
- Expand / modernise / reorganise an existing business
- Upgrade a business, introducing technological or other
innovative improvements
- Establish research and development facilities
- Take the next step from development to production
Eligible projects must meet the scheme criteria. Levels of
support can be significant and depend on the quality of the project
and its impact on productivity and skills. Funds are usually
payable in instalments on reaching fixed capital expenditure and
job targets which are mutually agreed during the appraisal of your
application.
The minimum grant that can be applied for is £10,000, so you
will need to be spending between £70,000 and £135,000 to trigger
the minimum amount of grant. This will depend on the location
of your project and the size of your business.
For example, if your company employs 200 people and your project
will be taking place in a Tier 3 area, you are eligible to apply
for 7.5% of the project costs as an SFI grant. So you would
need to be spending £135,000 in capital items to trigger the
minimum grant.
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