Deadline on £20K capital grants for Yorkshire businesses

Act now – time running out to apply for a capital investment grant for new products or services

Up to 40% grants are available between £8,000 and £20,000 to businesses in York, North Yorkshire, and Leeds City Region. The project ends this year, so now is the time to speak to our team about your project and start your grant application!

Over £4.3m awarded

Since PAPI began in 2016, over £4.3m of grants have been awarded, supporting over 260 businesses. This has led to the creation of over 400 new products and over 550 new jobs. The project will come to an end in December 2022, with final grants being awarded in summer 2022.

Did you know your business could get £20k to invest to develop new products or services?

How PAPI helped Leeds-based print company

Sorted Media, trading as FYI, received a PAPI grant to help buy new machinery. FYI are a Leeds-based print company specialising in the hospitality and drinks sector. They produce promotional design and print for clients including Red Bull, Heineken and Revolution bars. They are highly regarded in the sector for their non-traditional approach to print scheduling.

During 2020, the COVID-19 crisis had a huge impact on the hospitality sector, with many of FYI’s customers staying dormant for nearly 12 months. Customer demand for print services therefore changed and FYI saw an increase in demand for branded packaging for influencer marketing campaigns and direct to consumer activity, including bespoke packaging and labelling. Their clients, which included craft beer producers, had to shift their marketing activity to focus on at-home experiences. A consumer’s ‘unboxing’ experience had to be memorable and eye-catching for consumers and for social media.

FYI saw an opportunity to bring the design and print of their bespoke packaging in house in order to meet new consumer demand, maintain quality control and reduce product lead time. To do this, they needed to purchase a computer numerical control (CNC) wide format digital cutting machine. As well as allowing them to create new, eye-catching packaging bespoke for their clients, the equipment would also be used to create samples and mock-ups for clients without a minimum charge and the facility to experiment with new point-of-sale items and packaging.

FYI were awarded a £20,000 PAPI grant to help with the purchase of the new machinery. The machine allowed the company to launch their new in-house bespoke packaging design and manufacturing using a range of materials including card, MDF and plastics. It also allowed them to create innovative new designs for their clients. Manufacturing in-house meant that FYI could quickly meet client’s needs, and respond quickly to emerging marketing trends.

Since purchasing the machinery and launching their new products, FYI have employed 6 new members of staff, and have seen an increase in sales.

Find out more

For more information about PAPI grants, visit www.papi.org.uk, call 01904 328076 or email [email protected].

The PAPI project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and delivered by the University of York, in partnership with The Northern Powerhouse.