Cash-strapped companies in the West Midlands can apply for funding from a new £4 million programme.

Following a special regional economic summit held in Birmingham that was attended by Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, Advantage West Midlands have launched the Transition Loan Fund to help firms overcome the credit crunch.

Commercial loans of between £50,000 and £250,000 are on offer to help SMEs that are facing difficulties in obtaining credit through traditional sources during the current economic slowdown.

For more information on the Transition Loan Fund, contact Paul Wheeler or Norman Gascoigne at AWM’s Advantage Transition Bridge Fund team on 0121 200 8195.

You can access the details of these approaching deadlines for free today:

Crawley Green Business Awards - Gatwick Diamond Green Business Awards
http://www.j4bgrants.co.uk/SchemeList.aspx?WCI=htmResults&WCU=CBC=View,SEARCH=RB%3d6,DSCODE=J4BGRB,SCHEMEID=38-S20287,UDATA=LISTMODE%3dDEADLINES~pSCHEMEVIEWBACK%3dSCHEMELIST

Derbyshire Marketing Grants
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Dumfries and Galloway LEADER Programme
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Innovation Vouchers
http://www.j4bgrants.co.uk/SchemeList.aspx?WCI=htmResults&WCU=CBC=View,SEARCH=RB%3d6,DSCODE=J4BGRB,SCHEMEID=38-S31613,UDATA=LISTMODE%3dDEADLINES~pSCHEMEVIEWBACK%3dSCHEMELIST

More approaching deadlines:
http://www.j4bgrants.co.uk/SchemeList.aspx?WCI=ht ...

Due to unprecedented demand during Small Business Week 2008 and to support small businesses during the "credit crunch", we have extended our offer to provide information on business grants entirely free to registered users until 31 October 2008.

http://www.j4bgrants.co.uk/search.aspx

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A £19 million programme aiming to boost business in South Wales is up and running.

The South West Wales Business Finance Scheme can offer grants worth between £1,000 and £5,000 for firms to invest in capital projects that help them develop and expand.

Part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the initiative can support up to 40% of the costs of improving business premises and buying equipment.

Although the first grant offers are not expected to be made until the end of the year, interested companies are invited to submit an expression of interest to Carmarthenshire County Council, who are currently overseeing the programme on behalf of the areas.

The scheme is open to new and existing SMEs based in the following local authority areas:

* Carmarthenshire.
* Ceredigion.
* Pembrokeshire.
* City and County of Swansea.
* Neath Port Talbot.

Businesses from any industry eligible to receive European Union funding can apply, but priority will be given to firms ...

Rural businesses across the West Midlands are set for a double boost after two new support schemes were launched.

Financed through the region’s £53 million share of Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) 2007-2013, funding is available via Rural Enterprise Grants and Strategic Investment Grants.

Rural Enterprise Grants (REG) can provide capital funding to help farmers and rural micro-enterprises to carry out diversification and business development projects.

The scheme can fund up to 40% of total costs, to a maximum of £62,500, for projects falling into one of the following categories:

* Food and Drink Diversification and Enterprise Development.
* Support for Environmental Technologies.
* Tourism Improvements.
* Diversification into Non-Agricultural Crops and Livestock.

Further funding will be available from January for projects relating to Livestock Health and Welfare Training.

Grants are also available to improve the processing and marketing of primary agriculture ...

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A £5 million rescue package to help Northern Ireland businesses overcome the economic slowdown has been unveiled.

Economy minister Arlene Foster announced the cash boost at Invest Northern Ireland’s Challenges and Opportunities – the Credit Crunch event in Belfast.

The funding will enable existing Invest NI clients to access fast-track advice to help them identify and implement specific measures to get through the current financial crisis.

Companies claim up to five days free on-site support to pinpoint projects, up to the value of £100,000 each, in areas such as financial and cash flow management, improving supply chain and internal efficiencies, and removing barriers to securing sales in new markets.

Invest NI will then make a financial contribution up to 50% of the project’s total costs.

Revealing the support package, Ms Foster said:

“Whilst a general economic downturn can make success harder, it does not mean that it is not achievable. There will always be demand for good products and ...

A new venture capital loan fund is set to be launched early next year as part of a £200 million drive to help North West businesses beat the credit crunch.

Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA), claimed the new £140 million fund would form a key plank of a recovery package aimed at helping the region’s firms overcome the economic slowdown.

The fund, which will be part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, is designed to plug the equity gap for small and medium-sized businesses and will help companies to innovate, invest and grow.

Mr Broomhead revealed that a further £40 million has been earmarked to help firms invest in skills development and training, while £10 million would be made available to provide support and coaching to 1,000 business that demonstrate the best high-growth potential.

The region will also introduce a £4 million Innovation Voucher scheme along the lines of a successful pilot held in the West Midlands, where firms ...

Small businesses in London are set to reap the benefits of a new programme designed to help bring innovative products to market.

The £3.5 million Knowledge Connect scheme, part financed by the European Regional Development Fund, will enable SMEs to take part in knowledge transfer projects with universities and further education colleges.

Run over the next three years by the London Development Agency (LDA), the scheme will also offer one-off grants to help small businesses employing between four and 50 staff reap the benefits of collaborating with the capital’s thriving knowledge base.

Grants of up to £3,000 will be available for activities such as product service development and proof of concept work, with larger grants of up to £10,000 on offer to support more in-depth collaborations on a match-funded basis.

Sarah Ebanja, deputy chief executive of the LDA, said:

“Knowledge Connect will enable SMEs tap into the huge amount of invaluable knowledge and know-how that universities have developed. ...

A new campaign is being launched to boost businesses across the East of England region.

Big Fish aims to raise awareness of the revamped programme of support and funding offered to firms by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).

Launching on 6 October with an intensive one-day business Bootcamp hosted by former Dragons’ Den panellist Doug Richard, Big Fish will offer an online diagnostic tool to help people test their business ideas, help from a wide range of Business Link advisors, and access to a number of investors including banks, business angels, and venture capital funds.

From early next year, EEDA will also introduce a new investment readiness programme that will help entrepreneurs access the most suitable funding sources and prepare them to pitch for investment.

Richard Ellis, chair of EEDA, claimed Big Fish would build on the success of their previous Running the Gauntlet campaign.

He said:

“The new programme is more focused on the individual needs of each entrepreneur or ...

A new East Kilbride-based venture that turns discarded bottles into plastic sheeting will launch later this month after securing almost half a million pounds worth of investment.

Ecopet Extrusion Ltd has received the £450,000 backing from Business Angel group Highland Venture Capital (HVC) and Scottish Enterprise’s Co-investment Fund.

The company, which employs 13 staff, plans to recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles to produce plastic film and sheets, in a move that the firm’s founder Anton Davis says is a first for Scotland that will cut the amount of waste sent to landfill.

He explained:

“This is the first plant in Scotland manufacturing these recycled plastics solely for commercial sale. The demand for recycled packaging is growing all the time and we will be using raw materials that would otherwise have ended up in landfill.”

As part of the deal, two members of HVC will join Ecopet’s board of directors, with Ian Jamie acting as chairman and Colin Nisbet serving as a director. ...