Regional Selective Assistance grants total £10m+ in second quarter

Scottish Enterprise has awarded more than £10million in Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grants during the last quarter, a planned investment that is expected to create or safeguard more than 1,100 jobs.

A total of £10,382,000 has been accepted by 32 companies of all sizes across Scotland for a range of business growth purposes, all designed to create business expansion and job creation. The Scottish Enterprise funding is expected to generate a further £65 million in these projects through further investment by the companies themselves;

Three-quarters of the companies benefiting from the funds are Scottish firms. This includes Coretrax Technology in Aberdeen, which has been offered £400,000 towards creating a new, purpose-built building that will allow the company to keep up with the growing demands of the energy sector; as well as Glasgow-based Unity Contract Finance Ltd, which has been awarded £250,000 towards establishing a base in the city.

RSA funding also provided support for overseas companies looking to invest further in Scotland. Swedish company Proact IT UK Ltd, for example, will be receiving a £475,000 grant to establish a technical support centre in North Lanarkshire, which could support 50 new jobs; and German firm BASF Pharma intends to use its £2.95m grant to help increase manufacturing capacity on the Isle of Lewis, potentially delivering 98 new jobs and safeguarding 25 existing jobs in the process.

“The awards made through the RSA fund to Scottish companies in this past quarter vary hugely, from £38,000 to around £400,000,” said Lena Wilson, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise. “That shows the flexibility of the scheme – it can support any company of any size, so long as that company has the desire and the capacity to grow.

“And like the many other grant and funding options that Scottish Enterprise offers, RSA funding can often be a lever which companies can use to access finance from other sources such as banks or private investors, which is increasingly important in the current environment. It’s part of the overall package of support we can offer companies to help them to grow and expand in Scotland.”

The RSA scheme is helping to boost job creation in regions across Scotland. In Aberdeen, for example, planned total awards of £650,000 will help to create or protect 100 jobs. In Stirling and Clackmannanshire, £354,000 will do the same for a planned total of 47 jobs.

The Strathclyde area (Glasgow, North and South Lanarkshires) will see collective planned investment of £1,198,344 supporting the creation or protection of 412 jobs; and in Fife £1,392,000 will create or protect a planned jobs total of 109.

“What these quarterly figures show is that companies from across Scotland are recognising the importance of investing in growth, despite the ongoing challenges presented by the national and global economy,” said Lena Wilson.

“All of these companies have one thing in common – no matter what size they are, or what business they are in, they remain ambitious for the future and are identifying new opportunities for their business which will help them remain competitive. This is critical if we are to accelerate Scotland’s economic recovery

“Regional Selective Assistance is one of the key ways in which we help companies to continue to invest in the current climate. It helps us create the right environment for companies who want to grow their businesses in Scotland, and in doing so to create much-needed jobs and positive economic growth.”