LEP welcomes Deputy Prime Minister to the region

13.01.14

Leeds City Region LEP Chair, Roger Marsh, was invited to meet Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP, as he toured some of the region’s thriving businesses last Thursday.

The ministerial visit included an announcement that hundreds of new jobs will be created in West Yorkshire thanks to a multimillion pound investment from the government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).

Mr Marsh attended the meeting at bed manufacturer, Harrison Spinks, which has secured more than £2million from the RGF, alongside £4.5m private sector funding, to help create 138 jobs and safeguard a further 40 jobs in Leeds. The LEP supported the company with its initial application and endorsed its successful bid to RGF round four.

While in the City Region, the Deputy Prime Minister also visited Normanton-based company, Really Useful Products, which has secured £1 million of Regional Growth Fund investment to help create 175 jobs.

Along with fellow LEP Board member Mark Ridgway, Leeds City Council Chief Executive Tom Riordan and Head of LEP Secretariat Rob Norreys, Mr Marsh was given the opportunity to speak to the Deputy Prime Minister about the LEP’s growth ambitions for the region, and highlight the results of its own successful Business Growth Programme, which is financed through the RGF.

Over 100 SMEs across the City Region have now been awarded grants from the Business Growth Programme, with the potential to create over 1,200 jobs. Successful recipients include CK Foods, which was recently awarded over £800,000 from the LEP to establish a new poultry processing plant and create 50 new jobs in Bradford, and Wakefield-based Xamax, which is investing its £20,000 grant in new machinery to double production in its sportswear division.

Image courtesy Harrison Spinks