Local companies are benefitting from a University administered fund which is designed to help businesses exploit new technologies and invest in capital projects.
The ‘N2 Business Growth Fund’ is providing grants ranging from £20k to £250k for local businesses that want to invest in capital or equipment, or that want to exploit intellectual property and new technologies.
140 new jobs
Grants of over £1.1m have already been made to businesses in Nottinghamshire, which will enable 140 new jobs to be created.
One of the companies that has taken advantage of the N2 Business Growth Fund is Sygnature Discovery, which specialises in advanced scientific research into new medicines.
Based in BioCity Nottingham, Sygnature is looking to expand into a brand new £30m flagship building in early 2017. The grant of £190k from the N2 Business Growth Fund will help Sygnature to purchase new pieces of equipment to enable them to continue to operate at the top of their field. At the same time, they plan to increase their Nottingham workforce by 30%.
Increasing research capabilities
Speaking about the grant, Victoria Tabiner, Financial Director of Sygnature was quick to emphasise the importance of the N2 grant. She said: “Sygnature is delighted to have secured recent investment from the N2 Business Growth Fund. We have already set about purchasing new equipment with the support of the grant, which will allow us to further our research capabilities on our Nottingham site.”
Although applications are considered from businesses in all industries, there will be a focus on key sectors which have been identified as being vital to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire economies, including life sciences, digital content, clean technologies and advanced manufacturing. The funding for the programme has been awarded through the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, and offers grants of up to 20% of innovation project costs.
Other local companies that have obtained N2 Business Growth Fund grants include Raising IT, a Nottingham company that provides software to enable charities to manage content on their websites. In addition, Trans-Sport, a Retford based event contractor has secured N2 Business Growth Fund money to install a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system as part of the expansion of their headquarters to accommodate new staff.
Kickstarting growth
Dr George Baxter, Director of Research Enterprise and Graduate Services at The University of Nottingham, added: “This N2 Business Growth Fund is playing a vital role in helping businesses in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire secure the finance they need to kick-start growth.
“We know that there is huge demand for this kind of support, and it is good to see that through this programme many local businesses are being given the competitive edge that they need to develop and grow.”
To find out more about the N2 Business Growth Fund, visit www.n2businessgrowthfund.co.uk or email n2@embltd.co.uk
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