Bentley offered extra £3m from RGF

Bentley Motors has secured an additional £3m from the Regional Growth Fund, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced on Tuesday.

The car maker won £1.69m from the Regional Growth Fund in January to create 500 new jobs.

The extra £3m will be used to fund a new engine research and development project which will help the business expand into new overseas markets, including China. Over £20m of private investment has been secured for the project.

Clegg was visiting the Crewe plant to meet workers recently recruited thanks to the RGF. The company has already been able to take on around 250 new members of staff.

Christine Gaskell, director of Bentley Motors, is chairman of the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, which helps suggest to Government suitable local bids for RGF cash.

Wolfgang Duerheimer, chief executive of Bentley, said: "The funding we have received from the Regional Growth Fund will help us in two key ways. First, it will help ensure that we have a skilled workforce we need to deliver our projects and remain globally competitive. Second, the R&D support enables us to work on a key engine development project that will help us expand in key markets.

"Bentley has had a fantastic start to 2012 and our sales show that there is huge global demand for high quality luxury automotive products manufactured in Crewe."

So far 47 bids have been approved from the RGF in the North West.