The first three rounds of the five-year RGF programme awarded £2.4bn to projects and schemes across England, that according to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has leveraged a further £13bn of private sector investment and created or safeguarded over 500,000 jobs since its launch in 2011.

The latest round of funding was announced in the Autumn Statement and officially opened to bidders last week.

Private sector organisations can bid as individual entities or in partnership with other private sector or public sector organisations for a share of the funding with a minimum bid threshold of £1m. Bids must be received by 20 March.

Funding is awarded to projects and programmes that will leverage private sector investment, create sustainable growth, help to rebalance the economy in regions that are public sector dependent and offer value for money. Awarded funds must be drawn down by 2016.

Meetings for potential bidders to submit expressions of interest are being held around the country from 31 January to 25 February where RGF support teams will advise applicants on their next steps and bidding process.

Business secretary Vince Cable said that the RGF scheme was not just about "big industry and household names".

He added: "To date we have supported over a thousand SMEs through Regional Growth Fund programmes which is giving small business the impetus to expand, employ more staff or start exporting. This is the Government’s commitment to growth in action to encourage investment and lead to a more balanced economy."

While funding awarded to programmes and projects directly from the RGF may be of too high a value or too broad a spectrum for some printers to consider applying, the joint programmes and projects that are allocated funds through the RGF can pass the finance on as grant and loan funding for SMEs in their areas.

This simplifies the application process and allows businesses to apply for much smaller sums of money, such as £10,000, with applications often made directly through participating banks, including HSBC and RBS.

Managing director of West Midlands-based CS Labels Simon Smith recently secured a 35% grant towards a Xeikon 3500 through the RGF programme in this way and said that the process had been surprisingly simple.

"We applied for funding years ago to what was the West Midlands Regional Development Agency and it was a painstaking process with a 70 or 80 page business plan and around £10,000 spent on a consultant to help us prepare. It worked but it was hard work. This RGF process was so much simpler.

"Although we had to move our banking to HSBC because our previous bank Barclays was not signed up to the scheme, we didn’t need a consultant because it was just far simpler and there was no need for such a detailed business plan."

Although he said his background as a bank manager obviously helped, Smith said that with the right preparation the RGF was accessible to many SME printers.

He added: "You need to put across a good presentation and convince them that your proposal couldn’t go ahead without growth finance and that you will be able to create or at least safeguard jobs."

"So many businesses fail to sell themselves properly so you need to go in there and convince them that they have security and that you will get a return on that investment."

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