Business Start Up and Expansion Grant Guidance Notes

Business Start Up and Expansion Grant Guidance Notes

Repurposing the Old Town Old Town Grant Scheme Guidance Notes Business Start-Up and Expansion Grant This form is used to apply for a Business Start-Up and Expansion Grant from the Old Town Grant Scheme. Please read the guidance notes as you complete the grant application form. The Old Town Grant Scheme The Old Town Grant Scheme is part of Hull City Council s Repurposing the Old Town programme, which is a three-stranded programme of projects designed to revitalise the Old Town, Hull's historic heart. Aims and objectives The overall aim for the Old Town Grant Scheme is to improve both the visual landscape and the quality of commercial premises in the Old Town, and Whitefriargate in particular, in order to make the area more attractive to businesses, visitors and residents. The primary objective of the Old Town Grant Scheme is to support regeneration of the Old Town by encouraging small and medium enterprises (SMEs) including micro-businesses to occupy vacant premises in the Old Town. The vision is of the Old Town as an area of thriving café bars, visitor attractions, restaurants and independent retailers making the most of the area s medieval street layouts and architectural beauty, and of the Old Town standing as a strong economic presence at the east of the modern city centre. The Business Start-Up and Expansion Grant scheme will contribute to the above aim by providing funds to support the formation of new enterprises and the growth of established small and medium sized businesses and companies operating in or moving into the Old Town. The scheme will primarily focus on Whitefriargate and the immediately surrounding area but is open to the Old Town area as shown on the map below, as long as applications are considered to contribute to the overall aim of the scheme.

Eligibility Business Start-Up Note: Grants will generally fund up to 50% of project costs and be matched from the business s own resources (other publicly funded grants or loans are not eligible to be used as match funding). The business must be based within the Old Town, Hull (as defined by the map below) when it takes up an award. The business must be within its first year of trading. The business must provide a Business Plan that shows how the grant will benefit the business. The business must be able to demonstrate it is able to match the grant money awarded. Eligible Expenditure Eligible expenditure can be defined as expenditure where the benefits last more than 12 months and include: equipment, machinery, building works, fixtures and fittings, electrical appliances, website construction, logo design, software, and other similar one-off items to help start a business. The grant may not be used for: Recurring revenue costs (including: salaries, stock, rent, utility charges, subscriptions, etc.). Repaying existing loans or debts. The reimbursement of goods/services already purchased prior to the date of an offer letter. Items subject to hire/lease agreements. Activities that may bring Hull City Council into disrepute. The grant payment will only be made on production of relevant receipted invoices. Business Expansion Note: Grants will generally fund up to 50% of projects cost and be matched from the business s own resources (other publicly funded grants or loans are not eligible to be used as match funding). The business must be based within the Old Town, Hull (as defined by the map below) when it takes up an award. The business must have been trading for at least one year. The business must provide a Business Plan that shows how the grant will enable the expansion of the business (e.g. development of new products, accessing new markets, creation of new jobs, etc.). The business must be able to demonstrate it is able to match the grant money awarded.

Eligible Expenditure Eligible expenditure can be defined as expenditure where the benefits last more than 12 months and include: equipment, machinery, building works, fixtures and fittings, electrical appliances, website construction, logo design, software, and other similar one-off items to help expand your business. You will need to demonstrate that you would not be able to bring your growth proposal forward without the help of this grant. The grant may not be used for: Items or services which would be considered normal business (e.g. ongoing costs, replacing equipment etc.). Recurring revenue costs (including: salaries, stock, rent, utility charges, subscriptions, etc.). Repaying existing loans or debts. The reimbursement of goods/services already purchased prior to the date of an offer letter. Items subject to hire/lease agreements Activities that may bring Hull City Council into disrepute The grant payment will only be made on production of relevant receipted invoices. Application Form Contact details of the applicant Please give details of the person who is making the application. If the application is being made by an organisation, please give the organisation s name and address, and contact details of the individual responsible for making the application. Details about the business Please provide a brief description of the business for which you wish to use the grant and as much detail as you can about the current status of the business. Details about how you intend to spend the grant Please include a written description of the goods or services you intend to buy or works you intend to undertake that are eligible for funding. The more detail you include, the easier it will be for us to assess your application quickly. Cost of project and grant amount requested Please tell us the overall cost of the goods or services you plan to fund with any grant and how much grant you are asking for. The scheme will usually fund up to 50% of eligible costs for a project but may award more or less depending on the quality of the project and how well it meets the aims of the Old Town Grant Scheme. The remaining project costs will need to be paid by the applicant (you) as match funding. The applicant (you) will also need to fund any ineligible costs separately in addition to the grant scheme match.

You may ask for more or less than 50% of your project costs and this will be taken into consideration in judging the quality of your application. If you intend to ask for more than 50%, you should contact us before submitting an application. Details about the costs Please provide us with as much detail as you can about how much you wish to spend. If you have already obtained professional quotations or know where you intend to purchase goods or services, please provide this information against your costs. Please tell us if you are entitled to recover all or some of the VAT that you pay. Recoverable VAT is not eligible for grant funding. Depending on the value of the goods or services, you will need to obtain comparable quotes, or tenders to accompany your application. The number of quotes or tenders that you are required to obtain will depend on the value of the works. For individual works, goods or services costing 5,000 or less, at least two written quotes must be obtained. In this instance written quotes might include current sales catalogue references or web sales pages showing comparable goods for sale. For individual works, goods or services costing more than 5,000 but less than 50,000, at least three written quotes must be obtained. For individual works, goods or services costing more than 50,000 at least three competitive tenders must be obtained through an appropriate tendering process. Tenders should be scored on a quality to cost ratio of 70:30, and this should be made clear in the brief, with a number of quality questions identified. Additionality and Need Your application should show why you need the grant and what you will be able to do with it that will not happen otherwise. Awards will generally be made to projects that are most in need of funding and applications that cannot show a need for an award will have a low priority for grants. Projects that show good additionality will also have the best chance of succeeding. What will the grant help you do that you would not do otherwise? Please tell us how the grant will help your business and what will happen if a grant is not awarded. Will the grant enable your business to start sooner or grow more quickly? Will the grant let you do more, do it better or do it more quickly? Are you creating extra jobs or bringing unused space permanently back into use? How many, how much? Other grants and funding Please include details of any funding that you have received towards this project. If you have had any grant offers, awards or loans for the building from other sources, you must attach copies of any relevant letters. These should indicate the amount and any conditions attached to the offers.

If you are a business and have received any other financial support though grants or loans from Hull City Council or any other public body within the past 3 years you must also complete a State Aid declaration form. Please ask the Old Town Programme Team for a copy of this form. Under the de minimis regulations on state aid, if you are a business and have received more than 200,000 in public funding over the past three years we may not be able to offer you any further financial support. There is more information about State Aid on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/state-aid If you have any further queries please contact the Old Town Programme Team. Supporting documents Please supply all of the supporting documents that apply to your project. If you are not sure which documents apply to your project the Old Town Programme Team will be able to advise. Declaration The grant applicant must sign the declaration that all of the information supplied is accurate and correct. If the applicant is a Company, Charitable Trust, Community organisation, etc., a representative of the organisation must sign the declaration. What happens next? Once you have submitted the application with all of the required documentation it will be assessed by the Old Town Grant Scheme awards panel. If your application is successful, and the required documentation is in place, you will be issued with a grant offer letter and a copy of the grant agreement to sign. Please allow 6-8 weeks from submission of your application for a decision to be made. You should not purchase or enter into contract for any goods or services until the grant agreement with Hull City Council has been signed, as work that has already started is not eligible for funding. Contacts: For more information and full grant conditions please contact the Old Town Programme Team. Old Town Grant Scheme Area Old Town Programme Team Major Projects and Infrastructure 3rd Floor, Earle House Colonial Street Kingston-upon- Hull, East Yorkshire HU2 8JY E-mail: oldtowngrants@hullcc.gov.uk Tel: 01482 612565 / 612552