Government will invest £95m in SME export and capital growth

The money will come from the Regional Growth Fund and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) said that it hoped that the Government funding would result in total investment of £500m being made with the potential creation of 4,000 new jobs.

The £95m has been earmarked for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which do not have access to sufficient commercial lending, UKTI said. It will be administered and distributed by high street banks.

"The funding will support new job-creating investment by SMEs across England, in particular parts that have become over-dependent on the public sector," said a statement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. "100 per cent of the RGF funding will be provided as grants to SMEs with the banks employing their regional networks to administer the schemes on a pro-bono basis."

Companies can only win funding if they plan to spend it on capital assets which will create or safeguard jobs, BIS said.

"Beneficiary grants must only be awarded to SMEs to support the purchase of new capital assets (typically plant and machinery), where the beneficiary agrees to create new employment or safeguard employment that will be lost if the investment in new plant and machinery is not made," said the statement. "Beneficiary grants can only be awarded alongside an award of a bank loan for the purchase."

The Government also announced 3,500 training places for businesses to help them "exploit the global opportunities of the internet", according to a UKTI statement.

"The small firms of today are Britain’s international success stories of our future and it is this success that will build the strong, balanced economy that will secure our economic prosperity," said Business Secretary Vince Cable.

The newly-announced plans also include schemes to help businesses understand how better to export their products and services.

 “Government alone cannot turn round the export performance of this country," said Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade and Investment. "We need to work with those that have most to do with small companies, can help them to understand the benefits of exporting, and can then help make it a reality."

“Our future prosperity will not come from relying on domestic markets alone. Across the world there are markets that are showing strong, long-term growth. We want to make sure that UK firms are not just trading abroad but thriving there. UKTI has a crucial role to play and will seek to double its client base from around 25,000 companies to around 50,000 over the next three years," he said.