17 Nov Hillingdon Council launches Hillingdon Enterprise Program
Hillingdon Council, using funds available via the Government’s Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) is launching the Hillingdon Enterprise Programme.
After a successful commitment of over £8 million of ARG funding on sustaining and meeting the immediate needs of Hillingdon business during the covid crisis, the council is now looking to target a further and significant amount element of funding to a smaller select number of Hillingdon based businesses, potentially bringing long term benefits in terms of growth and job creation.
The council has set aside £1.75 million of ARG funding to support the Hillingdon Enterprise scheme, these would be flexible in the region of £50k to £200k for exception applications and the the Council aim to support a minimum of 10 to fifteen Hillingdon based businesses. West London Business will offer services in the management of the grants on behalf of the council.
While the target sectors have been kept as flexible as possible to avoid any exclusion of business ideas that could deliver future growth or employment potential, the priority of the scheme would be for the following sectors:
- Green Economy
The targeted use of the ARG funding could serve to encourage businesses to engage and potentially support a range of ‘green initiatives, which create business growth and employment
- Innovation
Due to the high concentration of aviation sector support companies, supply chain sector is a major employer in Hillingdon. As the aviation sector slowly recovers from the covid crisis, the sector could potentially be a source of growth and employment opportunities.
- Creative/media
This category reflects the increasing growth and future economic impact of the film and associated creative production sectors in Hillingdon.
- High growth
The category, aims at supporting businesses that do not fit into any other target sectors, but are worthy of support.
The eligibility to apply for the grant include:
The eligibility criteria for businesses to apply for the grant include:
- Must be based in Hillingdon Borough
- SMEs, defined as companies that have not more than 250 employees, an annual turnover of not more than £25.9 million and a balance sheet of no more than £12.9 million in total.
- Collaborative applications are engaged. This could be with a client or a supplier, an academic organisation, charity, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO).
- Projects can last from 12 months up to a maximum of 18 months.
- Projects must demonstrate a potential economic and/or employment benefit for Hillingdon.
The application process is in two stages, with the first one comprising of providing a brief outline of the project. Once West London Business has reviewed the application, you will be notified in order to proceed to the second round. Lear more about the application process and apply today!