Dorset Growth Hub has another £490,000 left to support growing businesses in the county. The organisation, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, started its Growth Grant scheme in 2018 and has paid 265 businesses a total of £1m, contributing to the creation of 552 jobs. The hub’s SME Recovery Grant, launched last September, has paid out £500,000 to 162 businesses. The Recovery Grant scheme is closed but the Growth Grant Scheme remains open, with £490,000 available for the rest of this year. The hub says it aims to get the money to the county’s most ambitious businesses. Recent recipients of Growth Grant funds have included the artisan sauce maker Weymouth 51; Blandford-based craft beer maker Barefaced Brewing; Fischer Panda, which makes generators in Verwood; Dorset Digital Print at Three Legged Cross; the upholstery and furnishing business Sonnaz Ltd in Wimborne; and Beatnik Decals, which makes decals for Volkswagen and camper vans.