£50,000 Business Growth Grants up for grabs

HSBC has launched a new competition aimed at supporting four deserving businesses from across the UK by providing them with a £50,000 grant each to accelerate their plans for growth.

The HSBC Business Growth Grants competition will focus on two categories:

• Two £50,000 Growing Business Grants will go to businesses using innovative ideas to grow their business within the UK
• Two £50,000 Overseas Trade Grants will go to businesses that have plans to expand through new opportunities overseas.

Stephen Price, Head of UK Commercial and Business Banking at HSBC said: “We’ve made it our challenge to seek out and support growing businesses, which will help to stimulate economic growth in the UK and the HSBC Business Growth Grant competition will provide the essential financial boost that many growing businesses need to develop.

“HSBC is committed to supporting strong viable UK businesses across all sectors and I would encourage any small business owner, looking to expand their business, to apply for a Business Growth Grant.”

To apply for one of the Business Growth Grants, small business owners should visit www.hsbc.co.uk/businessgrant download the application form and submit their proposal online. Entries will be accepted until 31st December 2011.

The five most compelling applicants for each grant category will be invited to pitch to a panel of judges, to showcase what sets them apart from the competition, and the four winning businesses will be announced by 31st March 2012, each winning £50,000.

To be eligible to enter the competition, businesses must have been trading for at least one year, have an annual turnover of between £100,000 and £2 million, be able to provide financial information for the last year and forecasts for the next two years and be based in the UK (including Northern Ireland but excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).

The launch of the HSBC Business Growth Grants competition is part of a larger lending campaign the bank is running. During October, HSBC has launched two new products to support growing business:

• The Employer Business Loan, which supports growing UK businesses by providing reduced small business loan interest rates for those that have created new jobs.
• The International Business Overdraft, which offers a reduced overdraft interest rate for businesses that are trading overseas.

In addition, HSBC is holding 100 local events across the UK for small business owners. The events are running in HSBC branches over the next 9 weeks and are designed for like minded business people, sharing ideas and business tips around funding and how to grow businesses both within the UK and overseas.