About LIF Cymru
The Local Investment Fund (LIF) is a package of flexible financial support to assist new and existing businesses by offering capital grants of 40% of eligible projects, subject to a minimum of £1000 and a maximum of £10000 grant.
The scheme is targeted at small and medium sized enterprises (employing less than 250 people) with either a turnover not exceeding €50 million or a balance sheet not exceeding €43 million.
The Fund is designed to develop the local economy by stimulating business activity. To be considered, your project must meet one or more of these objectives:
- Creating jobs
- Sustaining jobs
- Increasing turnover
- Aiding business growth
- Increasing competitiveness
- Making efficiency gains
- Increasing sustainability
- Stimulating further investment/growth
- Introducing new products, services or markets
- Supporting a key sector (Clean/Renewable Energy, Environmental Management, Telecommunications, ICT, Financial/Professional Products/Services, Creative Industries, Automotive, Aerospace, Construction, Food, Defence, Retail, Leisure and Tourism)
- Creating/developing a Social Enterprise.
As the grant is part funded through the European Regional Development Fund (Convergence) businesses will need to be eligible for funding under this scheme. There are certain sectors/activities which are deemed ineligible for EU funding and these include:-
- Coal/Steel
- Shipbuilding
- Synthetic fibres production
- Activities which fall under the remit of other EU Programmes, eg Rural Development/European Fisheries
- Banks
- Insurance companies
- Housing
- Statutory education
- Health services
- Fisheries/aquaculture/agriculture and Annex 1 food production/milk substitutes/export related activities
Additionally, LIF cannot support projects which cause displacement, (i.e. provide an unfair advantage over local competitors)