Businesses are continuing to benefit from an £8.7 million funding scheme in the south west that is creating, it is claimed, 1,136 new jobs.
Ninety businesses across the region, from Gloucestershire to Cornwall, have now received grants of up to £1 million from the South West Growth Fund, to improve infrastructure and accelerate their growth.
Supported by the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), the South West Growth Fund has funded transformational projects in businesses – primarily in the manufacturing, marine and digital sectors.
The grants, which will be the final round of RGF investment for the region, are predicted to generate a further £80.7 million of investment from the businesses, their shareholders and lenders.
Adrian Dawson, director of research and innovation at the University of Plymouth, which helped establish the fund, said: “The South West Growth Fund has supported 90 ambitious businesses to achieve their growth plans. The investment has provided a huge boost to the south west economy by creating more than 1,000 new jobs.
“I am delighted that the University of Plymouth has once again played a key role in securing RGF investment for the region, supporting innovation and creating highly skilled jobs. The success of the scheme will be reflected in the continued growth of the region’s economy.”
One of the Cornish businesses to have benefitted from the scheme is Allen & Heath. An internationally-renowned creator of audio mixing systems, Allen & Heath sought the funding to refit part of its building into a state-of-the-art research and development centre.
MD, Dr Rob Clark, said: “The South West Growth Fund has allowed us to refit our building to create a state-of-the-art R&D centre. It’s a bigger and better space – an amazing building that is perfectly suited to how our engineers work.
“Recruiting people with the right skill set has always been a challenge. Over the last few months, it has been very rewarding to attract new talent to Allen & Heath and to show people that Cornwall is a wonderful place to live and work. We are really fortunate to have the University of Plymouth just down the road, providing us with graduates who are highly skilled in software and hardware engineering.
“The South West Growth Fund has been a fantastic lever to grow the business.”
