London Business Hub are delighted to announce that applications for the London Business Hub’s COVID-19 Recovery Grants will open on Friday, 16th October at 10.30am.
Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), eligible SMEs will be able to secure grants of between £1,000 – £5,000 to help them access professional, legal, financial or other advice and /or new technology and other minor equipment to address their immediate needs in response to the impact of COVID-19.
SME’s can apply for 100% of the costs, but please note that funding will be paid in arrears. Therefore, after they have accepted the offer and have purchased and received the support or items that the grant has been approved for. In all instances we need to see copies of supplier’s invoices and a copy of the statement from the dedicated bank account for the business, evidencing that payment has been made to the relevant suppliers. Eligible applicants will have one calendar month, from the date of the grant offer letter, to accept the offer and purchase and receive the support/items that the grant has been approved for and submit a grant payment claim. Please note that the VAT element of any support or purchase is not eligible for grant support. It is also worth noting the grant cannot retrospectively fund activity that has already started.
All information and criteria to assess an SME’s eligibility and prepare for the grant application are now available. Read our project information page and FAQs.
As part of the grant application support, we will be running a webinar on Thursday 15th October 2020 from 10.30am to 1.30pm. It will cover criteria and application process for this specific grant as well as other scheme/grant opportunities. Note that places are limited. SME’s can click here to register their interest. If businesses are not able to attend, we will also be posting the webinar content on the project page on the same day.
Whilst funds are limited, we would encourage you to share with your network of SMEs. We particularly welcome applications from eligible SMEs that face particular barriers to running a business such as BAME, women and disabled business owners.
How much grant funding is available in London?
The London LEP Area has the following funds to allocate:
- Visitor Economy: £ 377,210
- Wider Economy: £1,081,112
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