THERE is just one week left for small business owners to apply for a £25,000 Business Boost grant from Simply Business – designed to give one UK small business a significant helping hand in the face of wider economic challenges including the rising cost of living.
Simply Business, one of the UK’s largest providers of small business insurance, is running the Business Boost grant for the third consecutive year. Last year, diversity and inclusion consultancy, Watch This Sp_ce overtook almost 25,000 small businesses to grab last year’s £25,000 grant.
So far over 12,500 small business owners have applied for the grant which closes on Wednesday 17 August. The winner will be announced on Friday 14th October.
The winner will be decided by an expert judging panel, including leading British businessman, investor and former star of TV’s Dragons’ Den, Piers Linney. Piers is joined by winner of The Apprentice 2022 Harpreet Kaur, who is Lord Sugar’s business partner and founder of Oh So Yum, a dessert parlour with locations in Huddersfield and Leeds, as well as an online service that delivers nationwide.
Other members of the panel include Tony Robinson OBE – author and Micro Business Champion and Chair of Yorkshire in Business, Merlie Calvert – founder and CEO at Farillio, and Mo Kanjilal and Allegra Chapman – the winners of Business Boost 2021 and owner of Watch this Sp_ce. Alan Thomas, UK CEO of Simply Business, completes the panel.
Research from Simply Business, which provides insurance to over 850,000 small businesses and landlords, found that 70% of UK small business owners highlight rising costs as their biggest challenge, which makes this grant even more valuable in the current economic landscape.
Alan Thomas, CEO of Simply Business, commented: “The number of applications for our Business Boost grant has been eye-opening and this reflects the challenges many small business owners face as a result of the current cost-of-living crisis.”
“When we awarded Watch This Sp_ce our second Business Boost grant last year we witnessed first-hand the significant impact that a cash injection can have on a small business. That’s why we’re proud to once again be giving away a £25,000 cash grant – to enable one small business owner’s big dreams.”
“I would urge any self-employed person who is considering entering this year’s competition to get their entry in before the 17 August deadline.”
To learn more about the Simply Business Business Boost grant and enter the competition, visit: https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/business-boost/
