Enterprise agency Nwes has launched a new grants brokerage service for SME businesses in Essex and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough (GCGP) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.

Nwes has appointed professional services Deyton Bell, based near Cambridge, to deliver the service to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access capital grants to support growth.

Grants are available for up to 20% of eligible costs, with a maximum of £20,000, and can be used to support investment in equipment, machinery, technology and processes that support business growth, in terms of resilience, productivity or job creation.

Additionally, the grants can be used to support investment in efficiency initiatives in the form of equipment to realise materials or utilities optimisation, recovery or reduction, or to support improvements to business premises that create extra capacity and enable growth.

The grants are similar to New Anglia LEP’s Small Grant Scheme in Suffolk and Norfolk, which Nwes administers. In Suffolk and Norfolk, grants brokerage is provided by New Anglia Growth Hub advisers while the new brokerage service in Essex and GCGP will operate alongside Nwes’s own business advisers.

Simon Best, European strategy manager at Nwes, said: “This is a free, confidential and impartial service that will help SMEs put together compelling applications that maximise their chances of securing financial support. 76 businesses in Essex should be able to make use of this service, with an additional 80 in the GCGP LEP area.”

He added: “Nwes is pleased to be working in partnership with Deyton Bell Ltd, making best use of their expertise to support companies through European Regional Development Fund programmes, the Essex Growth programme and Signpost 2 Grow.

“We want to reach out to businesses that could benefit from a grant, to help them achieve business growth and success.”

Deyton Bell managing director Chris Parkhouse added: “We help organisations achieve their objectives by doing what we are good at.

“We are absolutely confident in our ability to help management teams grow opportunities by using our knowledge and experience in business development, thereby leaving them to focus on their areas of expertise.

“We welcome the opportunity to partner with Nwes to support Essex and GCGP SMEs by delivering a dedicated grants brokerage service.”

For further details, call Nwes on 08456 099 991 or visit www.nwes.org.uk.