We have a 100% success rate in getting our clients grants.

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Start-up or established, if you are a rural business there could be a grant available to support your business growth. We have 100% success rate in getting our clients the full amount they ask for.

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Farmers, foresters and qualifying rurally based businesses can apply for grants of up to 40% of eligible costs to support business growth. Brexit means that the grants are likely to be the last round of the LEADER and Growth Programme stemming from the EU, now time-limited for applications until January 2018. No time to waste then!

The grants are intended to stimulate rural economies and encourage farmers/landowners, foresters and other rurally based businesses to innovate, grow and provide employment, summed up as JOBS & GROWTH.

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LEADER grants are managed by a local group of volunteers from farming and other businesses, coming together as a Local Action Group (LAG). Each LAG has developed its own local action plan so there are differences between the 70+ groups in England. There are also differences in approaches to LEADER in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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LEADER grants can return a maximum of 40% of eligible costs to successful applicants in a competitive process. As a rule of thumb the maximum grant that can be awarded is £50,000 but again there are local differences.  

There is a huge range of projects! Successful grants focus on what the business needs to innovate, produce sustainable growth and sustainable employment opportunities in rural areas.

 

Projects we have worked on include:

 

• new farm shop – the building and kitting out with counters, chillers, EPOS etc; 

• equipment to provide new services for existing farm shop e.g. production kitchen for ready meals etc, ice cream making or cheese making kit; 

• holiday accommodation, ranging from conversion of outbuildings to buying yurts, shepherds huts and similar to provide new income streams for landowners; 

• setting up a new cheese dairy, new milk pasteurising and bottling equipment to increase capacity of existing business and bring in modern technology;

• innovations in food processing including developing charcuterie; 

• creating lettable space for food processing that is earmarked for another local, innovative business;

• bringing redundant forest into managed and profitable use;

• developing a new café and visitor attraction  

If you have a larger project the Growth Programme Grants are your route to funding.

 

The criteria are the same as LEADER, seeking innovation, job creation and sustainable growth in rurally based businesses. Grants are competitive, based on 40% of eligible expenditure and generally capped at £170,000. That means if your expenditure is for example, £600,000 on a project you could get £170,000 of grant or 35.29% of eligible costs back as a grant.

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What can be funded? Projects we have worked on include the development of a café and kitchen alongside an existing farm shop; and the development of a new meeting and restaurant facility at a farm already diversified into leisure activities. Both obtained the maximum grant available.

We have been working in the rural sector helping to develop successful, sustainable businesses for 30 years. 

We have deep understanding of farming and food industries, and our own tools to help get business planning right.

We have written successful grants in this round and other rounds of EU grants.

Two of our team are trained and experienced appraisers of grant applications which gives them a specialist insight into the way that applications are assessed.

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What to do next? Give us a call on 033 033 50 300 or email us at rita@rnuk.co.uk or gareth@rnuk.co.uk and we’ll be very pleased to hear your ideas.

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We will always give you an honest assessment of your project’s potential for grant support. Or you might have already completed the first stage, Expression of Interest, successfully and be challenged about completing the full application forms. You would not be the first! Get in touch and we'll be happy to help!