Applications have been flooding in following the launch of the Birmingham Post Business Growth Fund.

The £5 million pot, which is part of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, is set to be distributed to small businesses in the coming year with a view to creating at least 250 long term jobs.

The fund was officially launched last week with a new website inviting applications for grants from £10,000 to £100,000 from small businesses in Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry and already applications have been submitted that if successful could create up to 60 jobs.

Birmingham Post editor Alun Thorne said he was looking forward to more applications of the same quality.

“Access to finance for small business has been one of the biggest issues for small business in recent years so I am not surprised that this initiative has caught the imagination.

“What is exciting about this fund is that we have approached the process with a completely open mind – we have no idea what kind of businesses this fund will be able to support and where the jobs may come from.

"If a small business meets the simple criteria and believes they have a compelling case for a grant that will lead directly to job creation then we want to hear from them.”

In the coming weeks the Birmingham Post and its sister titles in Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull will commit to a £750,000 awareness campaign around the fund before applications go before a selection board made up of senior figures from the Post, fund partner Bournville College, the business community and academia.

Bournville College principal Norman Cave said the response was particularly pleasing in the challenging economic environment.

He said: “I’m really pleased that we have had such a good response to the scheme.

"It’s very encouraging to see so many businesses still looking to grow and prosper in difficult times; these grants will make a real difference to them.

"At Bournville College we have the skills and experience to help companies realise their potential and we look forward to working in partnership with them to create new jobs and provide training to meet their specific needs.”