However, with just a few weeks left before the programme closes on 31st March, only £3.6m worth of vouchers have been given out. Department for Business Innovation and Skills statistics show that 2,132 growth vouchers have been issued.
However many businesses that have been successful in their application haven’t redeemed their vouchers – presumably because they’ve been unable to match the £1,000 funding.
A spokesman for BIS said “There are still 5,694 vouchers in businesses’ possession worth £11m that are yet to be spent and we will continue to distribute vouchers through to the end of March when the programme officially closes.
“More than 12,000 growth vouchers have been issued since the initiative launched in January 2014.
“Evidence gathered from this demand-led research programme will help us develop better business support schemes in the future as well as helping businesses decide what type of advice they need to grow.”
