Midway Manufacturing expands in Longton – thanks to Grants for Growth
A grant from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Grants for Growth has helped Midway Manufacturing Ltd expand its burgeoning sub-contract electronics business through relocation and premises refurbishment.
Expert help from the Grants for Growth and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s inward investment team Make It Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire assisted the company in moving from cramped and outdated premises in Sandbach that they had outgrown to a much larger factory in Longton. Grant funding of £60,000 contributed towards the purchase of the property and extensive internal refurbishment, increasing the company’s floorspace from 2,500sq ft to 6,318sq ft.
Since moving Midway has created three new jobs and secured new customers, further enhancing its long-term growth plans.
Managing director Phil Harper said: “The new premises have allowed Midway to create a segregated work shop for ‘dirty’ work including drilling and cutting. This will be deemed a positive move by our customers who all operate in the clean environment of the scientific instrumentation sector. Work benches have increased from 12 to 20-plus and we now have a dedicated testing and new product development area.”
David Frost CBE, chairman of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Midway Manufacturing has shown great initiative and we wish them well with their growth and investment plans for the future.
“This is a great example of the kind of support that the grant fund can offer – it is the opportunity for businesses to expand their horizons and give them that crucial extra support to help them grow. I encourage other businesses to come forward and talk to us about how they can apply for funding.”
Business grants and loans are benefitting hundreds of local firms. The latest figures show that the Grants for Growth programme has secured £3.1m of investment in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent since December 2016.
The Grants for Growth programme, run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, provides grant funding for small-to-medium sized companies that wish to grow in the market place and create new private sector jobs in Staffordshire.
The minimum grant that can be applied for is £10,000 and the scheme goes up to a maximum of £250,000, which must be matched by a company’s own private sector or other equity funds. Grants are between 10 and 30% of total project value. The final amount is dependent upon financial need, State Aid intervention rates, the size of company, eligibility of items purchased and the number of jobs to be created.
As a minimum, total project costs should be at least £35,000 with the grant aid and like for like match funding to spent by 30 June 2019.
Grant funds for eligible businesses can be used for capital items including premises expansion or the purchase of plant, machinery and equipment, as well as a small amount of revenue expenditure for areas including website development and industrial property rights.
The Programme is part funded through the European Regional Development Fund 2014 – 2020.
Any Staffordshire business wishing to check if their growth plans are eligible for grant aid under the Grants for Growth programme can call the Team for an informal chat on 01782 231586 or 01782 233671 or email G4G@stoke.gov.uk.
Further free business support and advice from starting a business to employing staff and everything in-between is available through calling the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub Business Helpline on 0300 111 8002, email businessenquiries@stokestaffslep.org.uk or visit the Growth Hub website www.stokestaffsgrowthhub.co.uk.
Midway Manufacturing operations director Charlie Hollinshead and managing director Phil Harper (standing) are pictured with staff members at the new Longton premises.
