Angus Council has committed £50,000 to the Angus Grant Scheme.

The scheme was started in 2002 to support the development of small businesses (up to 25 employees) by offering companies up to £5,000 to support up to 30% of project costs.

Since then 45 grants were awarded totaling over £174,000. The success of the scheme was measured by the creation of 31 jobs, the safeguarding of a further 287 jobs and the levering in of investment of around £770,000.

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Committee Convener David May said he was confident the new funds would achieve similar success.

"In previous years the grant scheme proved invaluable to small businesses so I am pleased that the council is now in a position to effectively relaunch the scheme," Mr May said.

"The £50,000 being made available offers a boost to eligible local companies to stimulate sustainable economic growth for their enterprise and the wider Angus economy."

The scheme assists smaller Angus companies that currently have a significant proportion of their sales outside of the county or have the potential to sell outside the county.

The new scheme will focus on the priority sectors of tourism, food & drink and energy (including oil and gas) and will assist companies in these key sectors to develop a range of innovative and sustainable business solutions.

(GK/JM)