Greater Manchester Export Fund (Grants & Loans)
The GM Export Fund has two components:
Greater Manchester Export Grant Fund – £7M package of capital and revenue support to invest in the areas critical for international development and export-focussed business growth. It will elevate businesses to a point where they can either start to trade overseas or scale up their export operations to new markets.
Greater Manchester Export Loan Fund – £2.5M revolving loan fund providing short-term trade finance to companies who have been refused export finance elsewhere. It will provide short-term working capital to enable companies to fulfil export orders.
Loans
Short-term loans from £3,000 up to £250,000 and periodically up to £500,000 in exceptional circumstances.
Loans will provide short-term working capital to manage the extended working capital cycles associated with overseas trade.
Projects must create or safeguard jobs and increase international trade activity. Jobs created must be sustained for at least 3 years and safeguarded jobs sustained for 12 months.
Loans will be available only to companies who cannot access export finance from other sources, such as banks or UKEF
Loan Finance will be considered for businesses with good management and viable business plans which demonstrate an ability to service the borrowing required
Grants
All grants need to comply with EU State Aid legislation which sets out how much grant can be awarded towards total eligible costs for different activities dependant on company size and location. The state aid vehicles used are De Minimis and GBER.
Grants can cover eligible items within the following categories:
- Capital Expenditure
- Research & Development expenditure
- Specialist Consultancy expenditure
- Skills & Training expenditure
Items not eligible for funding include: Working Capital and Salaries.
Maximum grant is £500K
Application
If you think you have an eligible project for either grant or loan funding, please send details of your company and project to: info@businessgrowthhub.com and ask to be referred to the GM Export Fund team.
