Small and medium sized businesses can now access government funding to cover or contribute towards the cost of a range of services offered by Duncan & Toplis.
The newly announced £20m scheme will dispense grants of £1,000-£5,000 to small and medium sized businesses in England to help them access professional services including advice from accountants, HR experts and lawyers.
The scheme can also be used for the purchase of new technology and equipment.
Services can be fully funded through the scheme and there is no obligation for businesses to contribute financially.
£20m has been made available for the scheme, provided by the England European Regional Development Fund and allocated to Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Hubs to support businesses in each area.
The LEP growth hub network works alongside local, national, public and private sector partners to coordinate and connect local businesses to the support they need.
Details on how to apply for the funding should be made available by the various LEPs shortly.
We provide many of the services which will be eligible for this support. This includes accountancy services, business advice, legal services and HR support, delivered by our team of experts across the East Midlands.
Click here to view the full range of services Duncan & Toplis provides.
“As we recover from lockdown and the worst economic shock in 100 years, businesses will need help to protect their workers, adapt to the ‘new normal’ and make the most of any opportunities to grow and thrive.
At Duncan & Toplis, we support thousands of small businesses across the East Midlands and we’re working hard to help all of our clients through the services we can offer.
Now, this new grant can help us to support even more small to medium sized businesses at this critical time. Whether it’s through accountancy, business advice, legal services or HR support, eligible businesses can secure financial support.
This could be of enormous benefit to businesses which are struggling, hopefully saving jobs and livelihoods.”
“We have always said that we would stand behind our businesses and communities as we rebuild following the coronavirus pandemic. This new funding does exactly that.
Businesses will be able to use these new grants to pay for the expertise, equipment and technology they need to adapt, recover and rebuild.
Small and medium sized businesses are the beating heart of communities; they provide employment and contribute significantly to local economies and we are determined to give them the support they need to continue to thrive.”
The scheme is the latest round of public funding support designed to help businesses affected by the pandemic and the recession.
It follows a £2bn Kickstart Scheme to create jobs for young people, as well as numerous loans and tax reliefs, such as the cut to VAT for the hospitality sector, as well as cash grants such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
Since the start of the lockdown, our support has helped organisations across the region to protect their workers, ensure the survival and sustainability of their businesses and adapt to make the most of new opportunities and control their outgoings.
So far, our team has also helped 464 businesses access over £9m in CJRS support and helped clients to access a further £12.99m in other funding to help them through the pandemic.
We have also provided free information and guidance through our online COVID-19 Knowledgebase and a regular coronavirus email update. These information services deliver clear and up to date explanations of the government’s support packages as well as advice and insights from our team of experts and news of important and relevant changes and updates.
So far, these free to read articles have been accessed more than 400,000 times since the start of the pandemic.
