Talk to the Growth Hub – with a focus on Cornwall & Isles of Scilly

Kirsty Miles-Musgrave (Investment Operations Manager at Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub) visited our Truro office last week to discuss details of the current, post EU funding, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Hub offer.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (CIOS) Growth Hub

The CIOS Growth Hub remains as it has been – a signposting organisation / single point of contact for business owners looking to navigate the funding and business support ecosystem. But it has evolved to become the single point of entry for a number of Good Growth funded grant schemes and business support schemes outlined further below.

Terminology

The Good Growth Fund is the umbrella title for the £132m of UK Shared Prosperity Fund monies allocated to Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, administered by Cornwall Council. The £10m of grants being administered by The CIOS Growth Hub are a devolved element of the Good Growth Fund.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is the UK Government’s replacement for EU funding. Whilst many of the principles which applied to EU funding remain the same, it is important to note that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is sector blind. Some businesses previously excluded from the EU grant schemes, such as agriculture or tourism-based, may now be eligible for grants.

Rural England Prosperity Fund is a replacement for LEADER funding.

State Aid has been replaced by Subsidy Control. The rules sounded similar albeit the grants are open to applications from a wider range of businesses than under EU rules. As noted above.

Grants and business support accessible through CIOS Growth Hub

The total Good Growth grants being administered by CIOS Growth Hub are £10m. See previous blog about the grants here.

From my notes of the meeting the following additional detail can be added:

Scheme – total available	Open?	Access via	Business Support available (Note 2)
Business Growth Grants aimed at supporting projects to create/ safeguard jobs, develop new products and services etc- £3m	Yes	CIOS Growth Hub – with direct applications coming soon for Export grants	Access to Finance plus
Research Development and Innovation – £5m	Yes	CIOS Growth Hub	STRIDE
Net Zero – £2m	Not yet		Coming soon

Support for start up businesses is also accessible via the CIOS Growth Hub. Details can be found here.

Access via CIOS Growth Hub

We discussed internally about most of the grants only being accessible after a discussion with the CIOS Growth Hub. However, I can see the logic in having a single point of contact to better understand the businesses’ needs and match these with resources available, and if necessary, assist them with a grant application. Support will be tailored to the business i.e., if a business approaches them with a defined strategy and need a grant to deliver a project then less CIOS Growth Hub intervention will be required.

PKF Francis Clark

We will continue to direct clients and contacts to CIOS Growth Hub, complement our knowledge of the funding ecosystem in Cornwall & Isles of Scilly – and act as an access point to grants and business support.

Keep an eye out for details on a breakfast briefing in 2024 about grants and business support accessible through the CIOS Growth Hub.

Ongoing, my colleagues and I are mindful of the fact that the grants are valuable funding which will naturally take time to obtain. In addition, when discussing future plans with our clients, this will be part of the toolkit which businesses should be thinking about using over the medium term.

(This piece focuses on the CIOS Growth Hub however we are aware of Growth Hubs across the South West).