South East: Regional Growth Fund attracts £183m company bids

Data from the Regional Growth Fund shows companies in the South East have competed for £183 million of finance. With £350m available, the Regional Growth Fund has received 41 bids from this region.  Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said: "It is great to see so many proposals from companies that want money to move ahead and expand. As in previous rounds of the Regional Growth Fund, this is a competitive process and we will be analysing the proposals carefully before selecting the winning bids- ensuring we put money where it counts, to create or safeguard local jobs for the long term.

"I have seen first hand what firms are doing with the money already invested – from household names such as Aston Martin who have brought back the production of the iconic Rapide S to the West Midlands and created job and apprenticeship opportunities – to emerging companies, like Molecular Profiles who built a new pharmaceutical and manufacturing facility in Nottingham, tripling their capacity and increasing their ability to compete internationally – both creating jobs and increasing training opportunities to nurture local talent and boost the local economy."

Business secretary Vince Cable said: "The high number of applications for the latest Regional Growth Fund round is really encouraging. This fund is creating large numbers of highly skilled and high quality jobs in firms and local communities across the country. TheRGF is also supporting key sectors for our industrial strategy such as aerospace, agricultural technology, oil and gas, renewables, nuclear and automotive."

The Regional Growth Fund is a competitive process and only those bids that are judged to offer the best value to the public purse, that create jobs and attract private-sector investment are supported.