finance from their own or other private sector sources and hence grants have been negotiated
as the minimum necessary to ensure a project proceeds.
Regional Enterprise Grants
This has been a scheme specially designed to help small firms to get started, modernise,
expand or diversify. Under this scheme, two types of discretionary assistance were originally
available for viable projects:
● Regional Investment Grants for manufacturing and some service sectors under which
the government paid 15 per cent of the costs of fixed assets (to a maximum of
£15,000 in 1996) for firms in development areas with no more than 25 employees
which could demonstrate a need for assistance