New grant makes Duncan & Toplis services free for small businesses

New grant makes Duncan & Toplis services free for small businesses

Small businesses in the East Midlands can now access grant funding to cover the cost of a range of services offered by Duncan & Toplis.

The newly announced £20m grant scheme will dispense grants of £1,000-£5,000 to small and medium sized businesses in England to help them access professional services including advice from accountants, HR experts and lawyers.

The scheme can also be used for the purchase of new technology and equipment.

Services can be fully funded through the scheme and there is no obligation for businesses to contribute financially.

£20m has been made available for the scheme, provided by the England European Regional Development Fund and allocated to Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Hubs to support businesses in each area.

Each LEP has been allocated a minimum of £250,000, with the following sums made available in the East Midlands:

Greater Lincolnshire – £507,928
– Derby, Derbyshire , Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – £720,398
– Humber – £357,993
– Leicester and Leicestershire – £408,785

Details on how to apply for the funding should be made available by the various LEPs shortly, with applications in Greater Lincolnshire set to open for ‘expressions of interest’ from 9am on 9th September.

The LEP growth hub network works alongside local, national, public and private sector partners to coordinate and connect local businesses to the support they need.

Funding is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Duncan & Toplis provides many of the services which would be eligible for this support. This includes accountancy services, business advice and HR support as well as legal services which is available though it’s newly launched company, Duncan & Toplis Legal Services.

Damon Brain, Director at Duncan & Toplis said:

“As we recover from lockdown and the worst economic shock in 100 years, businesses will need help to protect their workers, adapt to the ‘new normal’ and make the most of any opportunities to grow and thrive.

“At Duncan & Toplis, we support thousands of small businesses across the East Midlands and we’re working hard to help all of our clients through the services we can offer.

“Now, this new grant can help us to support even more small to medium sized businesses at this critical time. Whether it’s through accountancy, business advice, legal services,  or HR support, eligible businesses can secure financial support which can cover all of our costs.

“This could be of enormous benefit to businesses which are struggling, hopefully saving jobs and livelihoods.”

Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, Simon Clarke MP said:

“We have always said that we would stand behind our businesses and communities as we rebuild following the coronavirus pandemic. This new funding does exactly that.

“Businesses will be able to use these new grants to pay for the expertise, equipment and technology they need to adapt, recover and rebuild.

“Small and medium sized businesses are the beating heart of communities; they provide employment and contribute significantly to local economies and we are determined to give them the support they need to continue to thrive.”

For more information about the scheme and how to apply where you are, please visit your local LEP website.

Visit www.businesslincolnshire.com for Greater Lincolnshire. Alternatively, contact Duncan & Toplis via www.duntop.co.uk for expert advice and guidance that’s tailored for your business.

The scheme is the latest round of public funding support designed to help businesses affected by the pandemic and the recession.

Damon Brain, Director at Duncan & Toplis

It follows a £2bn Kickstart Scheme to create jobs for young people, as well as numerous loans and tax reliefs, such as the cut to VAT for the hospitality sector, as well as cash grants such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

Since the start of the lockdown, Duncan & Toplis’ support has helped organisations across the region to protect their workers, ensure the survival and sustainability of their businesses and adapt to make the most of new opportunities and control their outgoings.

So far, Duncan & Toplis has also helped 464 businesses access over £10m in CJRS support and helped clients to access a further £12.99m in other funding to help them through the pandemic.

The company has also provided free information and guidance through its online COVID-19 Knowledgebase and a regular Coronavirus e-news update. These information services deliver clear and up to date explanations of the government’s support packages as well as advice and insights from its team of experts and news of important and relevant changes and updates.

So far, these free to read articles have been accessed more than 400,000 times since the start of the pandemic.

Duncan & Toplis is one of the Midlands’ largest practices of accountants and business advisers, ranking as the 29th largest in the UK. The company has held the title of ICAEW East Midlands Large Accountancy Firm of the Year since 2017 and it also holds an Investor in Customers Gold Award for exceptional client service.

Duncan & Toplis has 11 offices in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire and is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year.

More information about this scheme and other support packages for businesses in the East Midlands, visit the Duncan & Toplis’ COVID-19 Knowledgebase at www.duntop.co.uk or contact Duncan & Toplis on 0808 169 1196.

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