Black Country Gold Grant Guidance Notes
Guidance Notes and Conditions of Black Country GOLD Business Grant
The Scheme
The Black Country GOLD Grant aims to help existing businesses to grow.
The Scheme is administered on behalf of the Black Country GOLD Management Group by Wolverhampton City Council’s Economic Development team, with funding provided from the European Regional Development Fund.
Grants available
Who is eligible?
Existing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) within the Black Country operating in the advanced manufacturing, building technologies, transport technologies (including aerospace), business services or environmental technologies sectors.
Businesses must also be aiming to grow within the 12 months following receipt of grant aid
Whilst businesses can be operated from domestic premises they must have completed all necessary registrations, including with H.M. Revenue & Customs, and, if appropriate, Companies House. All businesses whether operated from domestic or commercial premises, must have appropriate planning permission for the use of their premises
For the avoidance of doubt, the business should be paying rates to a Black Country Local Authority.
Please contact one of the following to check your eligibility:
[email protected] (01902 551997)
[email protected] (01902 550469)
[email protected] (01902 554033)
[email protected] (01902 554955) Business Manager
What is an SME business?
- Under 250 employees (across the entire company).
- Annual Turnover <€50m, or Balance Sheet total <€43m (across the entire company or group).
- Independently owned.
What grants are available?
Grants providing a 50% contribution towards the approved business costs of:
- Diversification
- Refurbishment/Decoration
- Capital Purchases
- Consultancy
- Development of Key Personnel
The capital element of any grant can be no more than £5,000. The maximum support (revenue and capital) can be no more than £16,000.
The remaining 50% cash match must be provided by the applicant. Matched funding cannot be in kind
Note: Recoverable VAT (i.e. if the applicant is VAT registered) may not be included in project costs however non-recoverable VAT may be included.
What is eligible?
The following lists are indicative but not exhaustive:
Capital Element (Grant support limited to £5,000)
- Fixtures & Fittings
- Improvements to Premises
- IT hardware & Web Design
- Industrial machinery & tooling
- Security fencing, CCTV & alarm systems
Revenue Element
- Consultancy work to assist with overcoming barriers to growth
- Development of management and key personnel to equip them to meet the growth challenges
What is not eligible?
Ineligible costs include, but are not restricted to:
- Normal trading expenses (e.g. settlement of trade debts, rent & rates, insurance, wages, tax & N.I. and recoverable VAT)
- Equipment with potential for domestic use; except in exceptional circumstances.
- Purchase of commercial premises.
- Purchases made subject to Lease agreements or monthly instalment payments.
De minimis.
Under EC Regulation 69/2001 (‘de minimis’ aid regulation) there is a ceiling of €200,000 for all de minimis or other state aid provided to any one firm over a rolling three year period. Any state aid awarded to you under this Scheme, or in the three years prior to application, will be relevant to you if you wish to apply, or have applied, for this or any other state aid.
For the purposes of compliance with the de minimis regulations you must retain the approval letter issued to successful applicants under this Scheme for three years and produce it (along with similar documentation confirming other state aid awards) in support of any further application for aid over the next three years or on request by the UK public authorities or the European Commission.
Please note that “aid,” as defined under the de minimis rules, not only consists of financial assistance but is also deemed to include Training or Consultancy or Advice that may have been provided free of charge i.e. the cost you would have paid counts as the “value” of the aid.
Applicants for this scheme should therefore endeavour to obtain “valuation” documentation from the provider of any aid provided free or at reduced cost. The maximum financial award under this scheme is £16,000 therefore there are no issues or problems for any applicant who has received de minimis or other state aid (including “free” training, consultancy or advice) with a total value of less than €186,000 over the three year period preceding this application.
General conditions of the scheme
The following general conditions apply to all applications for grant assistance:
- All decisions on financial assistance and the amounts offered are at the sole discretion of the Grant Panel
- Applications will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.
- The Grant Scheme will open in February 2014. Approved applicants will be given 3 monthsfrom receipt of the grant offer letter to complete the project and submit evidence for grant payment.
- Grant assistance is not payable retrospectively. Projects for which grant support is sought must not commence until formal written approval has been received by the applicant. Any work undertaken before written approval is received will not be eligible for grant assistance.
- Applicants may only apply for a grant once. However, where less than the maximum has been approved, top up of grants (to the maximum level) may be allowed in exceptional circumstances. Directors of multiple businesses may only apply for a grant for one of those businesses.
- Applications will not normally be considered if any of the applicants are undischarged bankrupts; disqualified directors or have unsatisfied County Court Judgements outstanding.
- An assessment will be conducted by the Project Management Team and will focus on business growth and the regeneration of the Black Country GOLD area. Project proposals will demonstrably improve efficiency and output of the business and its future prospects. The final decision will be made by the Black Country GOLD Management Group.
- All projects must be completed by the date specified on the approval letter unless agreed with Project Management Team.
- If there are any changes of circumstances after the grant has been approved, these must be notified in writing and approved by the Grant Panel before giving a commitment to suppliers. Failure to do so may result in the grant payment being refused.
- Grants will be paid to applicants upon receipt of copies of invoices from the businesses carrying out works, or supplying equipment to the applicant, together with a copy of the cheque if one is used, and a copy of the business bank statement showing the payment has been made.
- If the approval is subject to any condition(s), grant funding will not be released until that condition has been satisfied.
- Contact will only be made directly with the applicant who should be an officer of the business.
- The Project Management Team reserves the right to inspect any products purchased, both before releasing the grant payment and up to 3 years after.
- All applicants will agree to provide all/any monitoring information required by The Project Management Team in respect of their project; normally 3 to 6 months after completion, but this could be up to 3 years.
- Applicants will be expected to comply with any reasonable request of The Project Management Team in relation to publicity concerning the grant.
- The grant must be repaid to Black Country GOLD if any of the following events occur within 3 years of the grant being paid:
o Relocation of the business outside the Black Country local authority boundary
o Closure of the business
o Disposal of the items purchased
o Discovery that inaccurate information was supplied at the application stage
- Equipment purchased through the grant scheme will remain the property of Black Country GOLD should the applicant enter liquidation within 3 years of the grant award.
Details of the application process
- Complete Expression of Interest Form (this will be used to check applicant eligibility and eligibility of proposed project spend, if identified at this stage)
- Contact with an Adviser for diagnostic purposes (to identify barriers to growth and possible solutions)
- Submit a Full Application (see below)
- Once a fully completed application form including all relevant supporting documentation is submitted, the application will be processed by the Project Management Team. If any of the supporting checklist documents are not submitted, these will be requested before the application can be submitted to the Grant Panel. If this information is not supplied in the specified time, the application will be withdrawn.
- The Project Management Team will produce a summary document to be submitted, along with the other application documents, to the Grant Panel. The Panel will consist of public and private sector members.
- The Grant Panel will meet regularly to review the applications received,
- Decisions will be made at the Panel meeting and businesses will be informed of these in writing within 5 working days of the meeting. Occasionally a decision may be deferred for more information and the applicant will be advised of this within the same timeframe.
- Successful applicants will be sent written confirmation that their grant has been approved (and the value of the approved grant) along with two copies of a contract providing details of the equipment, works or services to be purchased through the grant scheme and detailing the nominated supplier from the list of quotations provided with the application. The approval letter will confirm the conditions of the scheme and any special conditions of the grant offer. One copy of the contract must be signed and returned.
- Any breach of the conditions will result in the withdrawal of the grant offer.
- No purchases can be made, or works commissioned, prior to the date of the approval letter.
- If there are any changes of circumstances after the grant has been approved, these must be notified in writing and approved by the Project Management Team before giving any commitment to suppliers. Failure to do so may result in the grant payment being refused.
- Evidence of all purchases made must be sent the BC GOLD Project Management Team, Wolverhampton City Council, Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1RP. Details of the required evidence of purchases are included in the General Conditions of the Scheme section above and they will also be clearly stated in the covering letter accompanying the approval letter.
- A member of the Project Management Team will visit the applicant’s premises at some point during the application process, prior to any grant funding being released.
- Payment of the grant will then be made. If expenditure is lower than agreed, the grant will be adjusted accordingly to reflect actual payments made. If, however, the expenditure is higher than the agreed amount, no additional funding will be provided. A letter confirming payment will then be issued.
If you have any queries regarding the scheme, please contact the Project Management Team at:
Wolverhampton City Council,
Civic Centre,
St Peter’s Square,
WV1 1RP
Tel: 01902 551997 or 07552211512
email: [email protected]