Inspiring Enterprise
You are here: Home > For Walsall Businesses > What We Can Offer > Grants and Funding > Grant for Business Investment
 
Grant for Business Investment

  • What is the Grant for Business Investment?

  • Assisted Areas

  • Criteria

  • Support Avaliable (including levels of support)

  • Eligible Expenditure

  • Administration

  • Contact

What is the Grant for Business Investment?

Grant for Business Investment is part of the Solutions for Business portfolio of publicly funded business support.
 
Grant for Business Investment (GBI) has superseded Selective Finance for Investment in England. It is financial assistance available to businesses located in Assisted Areas in the West Midlands for investment in capital expenditure and is run by Advantage West Midlands in our region.

GBI is normally given in the form of a grant payable in installments on the achievement of capital expenditure and job creation or preservation targets appropriate to the project. The amount of assistance which can be provided by Advantage West Midlands ranges from £10,000 to £1,999,999. Applications above this have to be made directly to Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in London.
 
Assisted Areas
 
The Assisted Areas in Walsall fall into two categories, referred to as Tier 2 and Tier 3:
  • In Tier 2 areas (which comprises of the whole of Walsall other than Aldrige and parts of Brownhills) GBI is available to any size of business, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria.
  • In Tier 3 areas (which comprises of Aldrdige and parts of Brownhills) GBI is only available to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs – for a definition of this term see the table below). Due to the economic climate the upper limit of £100,000 has been removed in Tier 3 areas. 
The Criteria

A project will be considered for GBI if:
  • It is located in an Assisted Area
  • The project requires GBI to make it happen, or without GBI the project would only go ahead on a smaller scale or within a longer timeframe
  • It involves capital expenditure
  • It creates new jobs or safeguards existing ones which would otherwise be put at risk (note that this requirement can be waived for grants of less than £100,000)
  • A majority of the jobs created or safeguarded require qualifications of level 2 NVQ (or equivalent) or above
  • It will secure increased productivity
  • The business is viable and can become self sustaining within a reasonable timeframe (for example three years)
  • It generates regional and national benefits, in line with the West Midlands Economic Strategy
  • The bulk of the finance for the project will come from private sources (such as bank finance or retained earnings).
Support Available

Subject to meeting the criteria set out above, GBI grant is negotiated to the minimum required to enable the project to proceed. In addition:
GBI grants cannot be less than £10,000
 
Percentage limits on GBI are as follows:
 
 
Tier 2
Tier 3
Large  (> 250 employees)
15%
N/A
Medium (Between 50 and 250 employees)
25%
10%
Small (<50 employees)
35%
20%
 
 
Employees
Less than 50
Between 50 and 250
Financial
Annual turnover less than € 10 million, or a balance sheet total of no more than €10 million
Annual turnover less than € 50 million , or a balance sheet total of no more than €43 million
Ownership
No more than 25% owned by one or more companies not falling within the definition, except public investment corporations or, provided no control is exercised, by venture capital companies or institutional investors
No more than 25% owned by one or more companies not falling within the definition, except public investment corporations or, provided no control is exercised, by venture capital companies or institutional investors.
 

Eligible Expenditure

Eligible expenditure against which these percentage limits are applied comprises either:
the cost of the tangible or intangible assets directly relating to the investment project; or
the wage and salary costs of the employees who fill the jobs created, calculated over a two year period; or
in Tier 2 areas only, a combination of both, provided that the grant does not exceed the most favourable amount resulting from the application of either calculation.

In the case of a grant based on the wage and salary costs of jobs created, the jobs must be created within 3 years of the completion of the investment project and must be maintained for a minimum period of 5 years after completion of the investment project in the case of a large enterprise and 3 years in the case of a SME.

Administration
 
Advantage West Midlands administer the scheme although projects above £2m are assessed by BIS, in London.
You should receive a decision within 30 days provided the application is complete and supported by the relevant supporting financial information. Larger and more complex cases may take longer.

Contact details:

Application forms are downloadable in pdf format from the Advantage West Midlands website http://www.advantagewm.co.uk/working-with-us/grant-for-business-investment.aspx

For additional information please contact The Enterprise and Business Support Team on 01922 653620