Latest news
A round up of business news including; information on new support services, grant funding, success stories, advice and information and dates for your diary.
HotSW LEP Seeks Four Non-Executive Board Directors
02 October 2020
The Heart of the South West (HotSW) LEP is currently recruiting four Non-Executive Directors for the HotSW LEP Board to help steer the LEP’s strategies and strengthen the LEP’s role as the main thought-leader influencing economic development in the HotSW area, and deliver the area’s Recovery Plan. The LEP is encouraging business leaders in the
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Young Entrepreneurs Challenge 2020
01 October 2020
The Young Entrepreneurs Challenge offers aspiring young businesspeople £10,000 and a mentor to help get their enterprise started. Supported by Unloc and Verizon, the Young Entrepreneurs Challenge is a pan-European online entrepreneurship competition looking for people aged 16-25 with fresh, new and innovative technology-led business ideas. The winner will receive £10,000 for their business idea
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Support service for Northern Ireland trade goes live
01 October 2020
The new Trader Support Service (TSS) is now live for business, providing education and guidance for traders moving goods under the Northern Ireland Protocol, including between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Tens of thousands of traders will start to receive emails and letters from today, with details on the launch of the TSS and its
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New partnership with Be the Business to help fuel economic recovery
25 September 2020
New partnership with Be the Business to help fuel economic recovery Be the Business, the Heart of the South West LEP, TDA and Destination Management Organisations across Devon and Somerset announce a new partnership to support hospitality and tourism leaders in rebuilding their business post-lockdown. Be the Business is a government supported, business-led, non-profit organisation
Read moreChancellor outlines Winter Economy Plan
25 September 2020
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined additional government support in his Winter Economy Plan.
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Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK Programme – Applications now Open
14 September 2020
The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme is now open and taking applications for its 14th cohort and will be starting in early 2021. The 10,000 Small Businesses programme aims to help entrepreneurs create jobs and drive the economy forward. Through the programme, participants will be able to identity and enact strategies to scale
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Innovate UK launches Smart Grants for innovative R&D projects
09 September 2020
Innovate UK has launched a Smart Grant funding competition for small and medium-sized enterprises to apply for a share of up to £25 million to deliver disruptive R&D innovations. Funding for projects ranges from £25,000 up to £2 million for the best game-changing and commercially viable innovative or disruptive ideas. All proposals must be business
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Eat Out to Help Out: More than 6.7 million meals claimed for in the South West
08 September 2020
6,771 outlets in the South West were signed up to use the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme as of 27 August 2020. This only relates to businesses that have less than 26 outlets. The actual figure (that includes larger restaurant chains in the region) is higher. So far, a total of 6,778,000 (6.7 million)
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Start Up Loans passes 75,000th loan milestone
02 September 2020
The government-backed Start Up Loans programme has recently announced that it has issued its 75,000th loan. After seeing a significant rise in the number of applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme has issued £31.9 million of funding between May and July 2020 compared to £22.9 million in the same period last year. Across the
Read moreGreen Distilleries competition: expression of interest
19 August 2020
Companies interested in applying for the Green Distilleries competition can register their interest to hear more about the programme. In his 2020 Budget speech, the Chancellor announced £10 million of new research and development funding to help distilleries go green. To meet net zero by 2050, all industries, including distilleries, must decarbonise as far as
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