PA Answer in Ely is one of the first local businesses to draw down funding from the £8.5m Grants4Growth project that is being delivered in partnership with Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnerships (GCGP LEP).
Grants4Growth provides Capital grants and Revenue grants for small to medium sized enterprises to purchase or install efficient new processes, production facilities and clean tech, helping them to invest-to-grow.
Local Grants4Growth business broker, Kurt Scheepers explains: “It is great to be part of a project which is really helping local businesses to innovate and continue to grow. For many businesses this grant has meant they can fast forward their plans for growth which has to be a good thing for the wider local economy.”
In the GCGP area, PA Answer in Ely is the first company in the area to benefit from the scheme. PA Answer already provides virtual PA services to a number of businesses across the UK and had identified a niche opportunity to provide virtual medical secretarial services to consultants and surgeons operating in the private sector. However, the cost of developing the latest technology to allow them to access this market was a barrier to growth.
Via the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Grants4Growth provided a grant of £2,500 which represented a substantial contribution to the company’s overall investment. The development of the telephone dictation system, voice recognition licenses and implementation of a new CRM system makes this service the UK’s first administration technology package, designed exclusively for the medical sector, making the market place now accessible. In the short term this has safeguarded a job in the company and is expected to help create six new roles over the next two years.
Owner of PA Answer, Chris Grove, commented: “The grant via the LEP has been invaluable in allowing us to react quickly to this new opportunity and has meant that we can continue growing as a business.”
Another recipient of Grants4Growth funding is The Workspace Consultants in Elsworth, Cambridgeshire, an independent commercial property, construction, refurbishment and interior design company.
The Workshop Consultants recently moved from Kingston, Cambridge to Elsworth, and as part of the relocation process they identified a number of opportunities for energy efficiency and cost-saving as part of the new fit out.
The Grants4Growth project provided a grant which made a significant contribution towards highly efficient smart lighting, energy efficient air conditioning to replace the expensive and inefficient electric storage radiators and even allowed for responsibly sourced carpet tiles manufactured from recycled materials.
Mark Richardson commented, “The grant has meant that we are truly walking the talk with our new office showroom and can show clients ways in which they can make significant energy savings.”
Robert J Barnes Car Repair of Great Wilbraham, Cambridge has also benefited from a Grants4Growth grant of £5,700 to install a state of the art four-wheel alignment machine – an essential vehicle service which ensures that cars operate with maximum efficiency, comfort and safety.
The new machine will enable customers to benefit from longer tyre life and safer, greener motoring. With improved fuel consumption and lower tyre wear, customers’ carbon footprints are also reduced – a real win-win for everyone. For the company it has also meant taking on a new member of staff and training and development for a number of the team.
Operations Director at RJB, Matthew Cooper, said: “We are a growing body and mechanical vehicle repair specialist. Winning the grant has enabled us to invest in our business’s growth, enhance customer service, reduce our environmental impact and project jobs; four good reasons for receiving a Grant for Growth.”
If you’re an SME in the East of England, there’s an £8.5m pot to help fund ‘green’ business growth, efficiency and clean tech projects via your Local Enterprise Partnership. EU funding is there to help make that happen.
To find out more about the grant scheme visit www.grants4growth.org.uk or contact Kurt Scheepers on [email protected] or phone him on 07920 246818.
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