New grants available to help Horsham district's small businesses thrive

If you are hoping to set up a new business, if you want to grow your existing small business, or if you want to take on an apprentice, you can now apply for a share of these grant funds to help you out.

Grants of up to £2,000 will be available for businesses based in Horsham district, with less than 20 full-time employees and who are registered with Companies House or HMRC.

Applicants must submit a business plan with a financial forecast as part of their application and are required to match fund the grant by contributing towards 25 per cent of their total project cost with their own investment.

Funds are being allocated on a first-come first-served basis, therefore, businesses interested in applying are encouraged to start working on their business plans now, to prepare for the launch. Once all the funds have been allocated, applications will no longer be accepted – so get your application in quickly.

Allocation of the funding will be determined by a grant appraisal panel at Horsham District Council, with meetings held every four weeks to agree the outcome of applications.

Successful applicants will be given a six-month window to deliver their projects from receipt of their grant offer.

Richard Landeryou, HDC’s cabinet member for economic development, said: “The LEAP grant scheme has enabled some amazing projects over the years and is well-regarded by our local business community. This new round of funding is another great opportunity for some of our start-ups and small enterprises to future-proof their business.”

The Council has funded a wide range of projects in the past, supporting different business types from across the district.

Geoff Cockwill, from Silvertip Films and past recipient of a LEAP grant, said: “The LEAP grant enabled us to make some video content which is forming part of a videography workshop we are running. It also enabled us to make short demonstration videos to show what different equipment can do in regards how your video can look and sound which has been useful when quoting for projects to be able to demonstrate visually what we want to do on the project.”