OVER 10,000 SME OWNERS APPLY FOR £25,000 GRANT AS COST OF LIVING RISES

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 26 July 2022

Over 10,000 SME owners have applied for a single £25,000 Business Boost grant from one of the UK’s largest small business insurance providers Simply Business.

As rising inflation, the surging cost of living and post-pandemic recovery continue to take a financial toll on small businesses.

Simply Business opened applications for the grant last month to help give a boost to small businesses, and since then has seen a wave of applicants with over 10,000 entries so far, underlining the need of funding and support for UK SMEs.

A panel of expert judges, including former Dragon’s Den investor and CEO of Moblox Piers Linney, and this year’s winner of The Apprentice Harpreet Kaur, will decide on the final winner of the grant. Entries will close on 17 August and the winner will be announced on 14 October.

2022 will mark the third year that Simply Business has been offering the grant. Last year £25,000 was awarded to Mo Kanjilal and Allegra Chapman, founders of diversity and inclusion consultancy business Watch This Sp_ce. In 2021 they beat almost 25,000 small businesses from across the UK to the grant.The two, who will also be part of the judging panel this year. While the 2020 prize was picked up by Larissa Cooper of textiles business Rowan Bay, from Norfolk.

Allegra Chapman, Co-Creator - Watch this Sp_ce in Brighton commented:

“Winning Business Boost really took our business to the next level.”

“It gave us the financial injection we needed to develop our audit and training platform so that we can provide a truly holistic service to organisations looking to make a meaningful impact with diversity and inclusion.”

“It also helped to raise our profile and get us noticed by some very exciting new clients across the UK and beyond.”

It comes as UK inflation has surged to a 40-year high of 9.4% and the cost of living continues to rise.

The new SME Insights Report from Simply Business also showed how small business owners are responding to the current economic climate. Key findings included:

70% of small business owners stated the rising costs are now their biggest challenge in 2022
Half (49%) of SME owners will be forced to increase their prices over the next 6 months to cope with rising costs
One in five (21%) intend to raise prices by 6-10%. For almost one in 10 owners (7%), these increases could be by as much as 20%
Two in five (40%) are holding off opening new or additional premises in the next six months, and half (48%) are unlikely to hire any additional employees
Despite the challenging landscape, a staggering 71% of owners remain confident about their business’s prospects

Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business, comments:

“We’re astounded by the sheer number of applications we’ve received for our Business Boost grant and it shows the impact the current economic climate is having on small business owners.

“It’s never been more important to support the self-employed, with the impact of the recent soaring costs making it a difficult environment for new and existing business owners. We want to make a genuine transformational impact on one small business owner’s life. From our research, we know £25,000 does just that – the average cost for startups in year one alone stands at £22,7562.

“Small businesses are built on big dreams, and we know finance plays a huge part in starting or growing a successful small business. The fact we’ve had over 10,000 applications so far this year shows how important it is to empower the nation’s entrepreneurs, as they look to navigate a tricky economic climate alongside the day-to-day challenges of being a small business owner.

“Small businesses play a vital role in our communities and contribute enormously to our economy. That’s why we’re giving away a £25,000 cash grant – to enable the big dreams of one small business owner and help them flourish.”

You can learn more about – and enter – the Simply Business Business Boost grant here: www.simplybusiness.co.uk/business-boost

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