Over 1000 jobs are to be created or safeguarded thanks to nearly £9 million of Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding, a Scottish Enterprise report revealed today (Tuesday 1st November).
RSA grants were accepted by 25 businesses between July and September 2011. The funding will support the planned investment of over £28.7 million, creating 663 jobs and safeguarding a further 374.
Chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, Lena Wilson, said: “These quarterly results show that despite ongoing tough economic conditions, companies in a variety of sectors are continuing to expand and develop, proactively creating more opportunities for themselves and for local economies.
“Regional Selective Assistance allows us to help home-grown companies stay in Scotland and realise their ambitious growth plans and just as importantly, allows us to help foreign investors chose Scotland as the ideal place to locate and invest.
"That’s exactly what Scottish Enterprise is here to do – help forward-thinking companies become even more successful and in doing so, increase turnover, create new jobs and drive wealth back into the Scottish economy.”
A significant number of RSA awards were made to the manufacturing industry with 13 companies accepting a total of £5.9 million of funding to create 392 new jobs and safeguard a further 347. Companies set to benefit include Rohm and Haas Limited, Grangemouth, Smith Anderson Group Limited, Kirkcaldy and Spectraglass Limited, Perth.
The creative industries sector was also a large beneficiary with three companies receiving a collective £750,000 of funding to create or safeguard 59 jobs. Axis Productions Limited, Glasgow, eeGeo Limited, Tayside and Reloaded Productions Limited, Edinburgh will benefit.
Geographically, three awards were accepted in the Highlands and Islands with Porex Technologies Ltd, Kirker Europe Limited and Ocean Kinetics Limited, accepting £925,000 to create and safeguard 125 jobs. Glasgow and the east were also large beneficiaries.
The full RSA quarter 2 report can be accessed here.
is Scotland's main economic development agency and aims to deliver a significant, lasting effect on the Scottish economy. Our role is to help identify and exploit the best opportunities for economic growth. We support ambitious Scottish companies to compete within the global marketplace and help build Scotland’s globally competitive sectors. We also work with a range of partners in the public and private sectors to attract new investment to Scotland and to help create a world-class business environment.
Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is the main national scheme of financial assistance to industry. It provides discretionary grants to investment projects that will create and safeguard employment in areas designated for regional aid under European Community law.
Payment of RSA is made in instalments, typically over several years as job and capital expenditure targets are met. Not all projects will proceed, and nor do all accepted offers result in full payment, as projects are sometimes scaled down or abandoned before payments are made. The figures quoted represent the maximum grant potentially payable if the project is satisfactorily completed, and not the amount actually paid to date. All job numbers are firms’ forecast figures, and are subject to change depending on future economic conditions and other factors affecting the businesses concerned.
For more information on RSA go to http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/rsa