Cumbria Growth Fund does what it says on the tin. It helps businesses grow.

The fund was set up after Cumbria Chamber of Commerce took part in a national competitive tendering process to secure £4m from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).

Cumbria Growth Fund has supported 44 businesses with £3.8m of grant funding, helping to create or safeguard 520 jobs and leverage £25m of private sector investment.

Manufacturing businesses – and those in services to manufacturing – have been able to apply for grants of between £10,000 and £1m to support growth and competitiveness.

This has allowed many more businesses to benefit from the Regional Growth Fund than would otherwise been the case. That’s because, when businesses apply directly to the RGF, the minimum grant is £1m, which means many projects are simply not big enough to qualify.