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Growing Business Fund Grant Panel Meeting Minutes (Confirmed)
Wednesday, 07 November 2018 | 10.00am - 12.30pm
Meeting Room G01 & G02, Centrum, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UG
Present - Panel:
Mike Burrows (MB)
Dominic Keen (DK)
Dr Sumathi Sundram
Martin Ince (MI)
In Attendance:
Chris Dashper (CD)
Julie West (JW)
Rose Joy (RJ)
Neil Sargent (NS)
Stuart Ager (SA)
Barry Henson (BH)
Vimmi Hayes (VH)
David Dukes (DD)
ECC (Chair)
Britbots
S&V Consultants Ltd
Martin Ince Communications
New Anglia LEP
New Anglia LEP
New Anglia LEP
Finance East
Finance East
Suffolk County Council
Suffolk County Council
Norfolk County Council
Actions from the meeting: Wednesday, 07 November 2018
Action: CD to seek assurance and clarity on employment transfer.
Action: JW to provide a percentage split of businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk at next
meeting.
Action: JW to send link to the dashboard statistic charts.
1
Welcome
MB welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2
Apologies
Apologies were received from Jeanette Wheeler, Birketts; Paul Stewart, Center Parcs; Jackie Potter,
Gough Hotels; Daryl Griffiths, Burnett Barker Solicitors; Amanda Castell, Finance East
Max Applin; Max Applin Consulting;, and Sandy Ruddock, Scarlet and Mustard.
Quorum confirmed.
3
Declarations of Interest and GDPR
Declarations of Interest - No Declarations of Interest declared.
GDPR - MB reminded Panel members to hand all paperwork to RJ to shred at the end of the meeting and
to ensure Panel members delete emails with attachments.
4
Meeting Minutes: Panel Meeting held on Wednesday, 05 September 2018
Confirmed with no amendments.
TML Precision Engineering Limited - BH provided update. No progress/contact from the business. It is
probable that the re-financing of the project hasn’t yet taken place.
Terms of Reference (ToR) - being done. It was noted that under ToR as they stand, if unable to attend
the panel meeting then panel members are required to send an email to vote to the Chairman and
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Co-ordinator, Julie West, with their vote prior to the meeting.
GBF Application and Applicant Facing Guidelines - JW/NS meeting on Tuesday, 13 November 2018
to discuss and finalise.
5
New Applications for Approval (1)
(a) Condimentum Limited - Agreed to support
Approved Grant: £391,350
Conditions applied: (a) Ten-year supply contract to be signed before grant funding is
released and (b) Grant to be paid against build.
Twenty-five full-time jobs to be created.
Discussion took place on employee transfer to the new site - TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection
Employment) Regulations 2006.
Action: CD to seek assurance and clarity on employment transfer.
6
Ratify applications (1)
(a) Optima Stainless Limited (considered and approved by email in October)
Agreed to support
Approved Grant: £265,300 amended to £264,900
Fourteen full-time jobs to be created.
General discussion took place on Training and Skills and how to engage with schools and local
businesses. JW advised that there are two dedicated Growth Hub Skills Advisers (BEIS funded) now in
post based at the Growth Hub, to provide dedicated advice and support to businesses to help improve
their skills workforce:
Dean Pierpoint - dean.pierpoint@newanglia.co.uk
David Sparks - david.sparkes@newanglia.co.uk
7
Small Grant Scheme
JW provided update.
The Panel noted the award of fourteen Small Grant Scheme grants in the month of August 2018, totalling
£149,705 (Grants Awarded) and nine Small Grant Scheme grants in the month of September 2018,
totalling £124,757 (Grants Awarded) - See Appendix 1.
JW reported there is now a steady stream of Small Grant Scheme applications coming through, as had
been expected after the summer period.
8
Funding, Updates and Jobs Creation
BH provided update.
Small Grant Scheme – overall total paid out is now totalling just over £1.5 million, with a further £600k
grant committed, taking us past the original funding and into the extension monies.
Growing Business Fund - total overall spend stands at £2,837,417, which takes us £47,417 over spend,
with a further £702k committed.
With today’s approved grant totals (£656,650) the cumulative figure for GBF stands at £4,196,495 paid
and committed which means we are £1.4 million over budget this year.
It was noted the overall total for all grant funding paid out to date is £24.2 million , so we are edging
towards a Milestone £25 million figure. With committed spend this takes us to over £26 million.
Cumulative confirmed job creation now stands at 1,989 (up fifty-six since the September meeting). With
an additional forty-nine confirmed jobs for the Small Grant Scheme (jobs not a requirement) which is a
bonus. This takes us past the 2000 figure, with many more jobs to come.
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It was noted in terms of value for money for jobs created, the GBF is a very good scheme.
File Update - BH provided update on the following grant:
Westover Vets - Previously approved in September 2018. All tenders in, but significantly above budget
therefore having to re-tender for build and fit-out. We await an update to panel.
9
GBF Applications ‘Pipeline’
NS provided brief details of applications in progress. At present there are five applications.
Four Expression of Interest (EOI).
10
PR and Marketing
JW provided update. New Anglia LEP is looking to procure and employ a freelance person to work three
days per week to write a Comms plan for the Business Growth Programme so that going forward there is
a more cohesive drive in activities and events.
Grant funding allocation across Norfolk and Suffolk - VH reported that grant funding activity was
monitored and reported quarterly at district level and it was noted that for Suffolk, although Micro/Small
sized businesses were doing well, it appeared Medium/Large sized businesses were not performing as
well, in terms of up-take of grant funding. Questions were raised as to whether anything could be done to
address this.
General discussion took place on demographic disparity of grant uptake between counties.
High Growth Programme - JW reported that 1300 businesses had been identified as having ‘high
growth potential’ that are to be targeted going forward.
Action: JW to provide a percentage split of businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk at next
meeting.
Action: JW to send link to the dashboard statistic charts.
11
None.
The meeting closed at 11.30am
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, 05 December 2018 |10.00am - 12.30pm
IP-City Centre (The Boardroom), 1 Bath Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 8SD
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Appendix 1
New Anglia Small Grant Scheme projects approved in
August 2018 and September 2018
August 2018
Grant
Approved
(£)
1
Norwich Gas Electric Oil & Water Ltd
8,452
2
Sharing Parenting
1,086
3
Real Bodies Health & Fitness Ltd
9,088
4
Exo Environmental (2)
1,123
5
Torros Ltd
11,010
6
Dunhams Washrooms Systems
24,072
7
TTV Industrial Ltd
25,000
8
Padgate Consulting Ltd.
2,911
9
Bevan Davidson International
7,300
10
Developing Experts
25,000
11
Food Innovation Solutions
13,538
12
Indigo Swan Ltd
7,073
13
RKE Engineering
7,750
14
Cornelius Group Plc
6,302
Total - Aug 2018
149,705
September 2018
Approved
Grant
Approved
(£)
1
3 in One Services Ltd.
13,550
2
CW Logistics Ltd.
20,048
3
Keronite Group Ltd.
19,882
4
RD Castings Ltd.
5,642
5
Black Shuck Ltd.
4,705
6
Liquid 11 Ltd.
10,053
7
B&B Skip Hire Ltd.
14,721
Withdrawn in Oct
8
Root3 Lighting Ltd.
25,000
9
Coffee House No5
11,156
Total - September 2018
124,757