The clock is ticking for businesses to tap into almost £3million in European funding to enable them to relocate or expand into Merseyside, as the Objective One Growing Business Development Programme comes to an end in September.
The Objective One Programme for Merseyside represented a £2.5 billion investment programme aimed at restructuring its economy and restoring prosperity with the help of over £922 million of European Structural Funds alongside UK Government and private sector resources.
North West Business Link is the main conduit for Objective One’s Growing Business Development programme, which has now committed funds of approximately £21.4 million and has in the region of £2.9 million left to commit over the remaining months.
Merseyside law firm Stephensons Solicitors LLP is an approved supplier of legal services as part of this scheme and is urging eligible businesses to take advantage of the subsidy while it’s still available. The firm is able to offer up to 40 per cent off certain legal services for those businesses which satisfy the criteria.
Kay Waddington, a partner at Stephensons and head of the firm’s corporate team, says: “The final deadline for firms to submit evidence to claim their funding is September 30th but we are asking businesses to act now if they are considering a move or expansion.
“The current tightening of purse strings may have put many small to medium sized enterprises off expansion or relocation, but this funding could be the help they need to make growth happen in a tougher climate. It is open to businesses wishing to expand into or increase their business activities in the Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton areas.”
One business which took advantage of the Objective One legal funding is Marx Insurance. The company, based in West Derby, specialises in insurance products for commercial businesses, commercial property and private clients, and instructed Stephensons when it undertook a management buyout in 2004.
Mark Duffy, managing director at Marx Insurance, said: “At the time, we were a Liverpool office of a Warrington based company but we wanted to create our own destiny and have more control over the company’s direction, and so we instructed a management buyout (MBO).
“Kay Waddington at Stephensons helped us with the very complicated legal transactions as part of the deal, and since the MBO, business has boomed. Turnover is up considerably, our staff numbers have increased by 40 per cent, and we’ve recently expanded into the estate agency and lettings markets.
“We were introduced to Stephensons through Business Link and it’s probable that without the funding we received, which reduced our legal costs dramatically, we might not have been able to complete the deal and expand the business as we would have liked.”
Stephensons will continue to offer up to 40 per cent off legal fees for those businesses that are eligible for Objective One funding until the end of September. To find out more contact Stephensons on 01942 774182 or fill in our online enquiry form.