Top 100 small business grants & funding programmes in the UK – Fintech Tube – HUBFX | Global Money | Global Accounts | Revolut Alternative

Discover the right grant for your business with our complete list of private and publicly-funded business grants available to UK businesses

One of the primary concern of all entrepreneurs and small businesses is getting hold of funding. Business grants are by far the most attractive source of funding for any new or existing businesses. This because there’s no need to pay it back, there’s no interest to pay, and you don’t have to lose any equity to an investor.

Cash grants range from hundreds to thousands of pounds, the highest generally reaching up to £500,000. Grants aren’t only cash rewards, many available to SMEs come in the form of vouchers for equipment and tools, reduced costs for vital resources and employment subsidisation.

A wide variety of grants exist for businesses, under both privately and publicly funded schemes. Grants both government and private are usually intended to encourage entrepreneurial activity in the UK to create new jobs and stimulate the UK economy.

While the benefits of a small business grant are second to none, it is worth considering whether a grant is the right funding for you. The application process is usually complex and time-consuming, and you must consider whether you can afford to lose this investment if your application is unsuccessful. It’s worth noting specific sectors lend themselves better to achieving grant funding, namely businesses concerned with innovation, exports or the energy and environment sector, which are key drivers in the UK economy.

This said, business grants can make you huge savings, and/or might be the cash injection you need to get your business off the ground. So, without further ado, here’s our list of 226 private and publicly funded business grants schemes for UK businesses.

1. Princes Trust Grants

The Prince’s Trust grants have provided financial assistance to young entrepreneurs since 1976. They offer an exclusive Enterprise Program that provides funding and mentors to young individuals to help them start their own business. To apply for funding and support, you are required to fill in an online application here.

To be eligible for any support or funding through the Prince Trust, applicants must be 18-30 years old. Previously, funding amounts offered varied from grants of £1,500 to £3,000. Their website doesn’t currently list available funding amounts, so available sums remain unknown.

2. Apprenticeship Grant

Apprenticeship grants support employers in offering work and training to young individuals through the apprenticeship programme. They take 1-4 years to complete and bring together practical training with job-based learning. You can find more information and apply here.

The quantity of funding awarded depends on your business area, and the criteria met, with finance for 16-18-year-olds subsidised at 100%. Generally, under the current scheme if you do not pay the apprenticeship levy (you’d only pay this if your payroll is over £3 million) then you’re eligible to cover 95% of the cost of training and assessing apprentices via government funding. The grant scheme also offers a £1,000 payment incentives for businesses taking on an apprentice aged 16-18 or 19-24 with an EHC plan.

3. Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

After committing in recent years to turn Britain into an entirely fibre based country, the government launched the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support the transition. Small local businesses or local communicates can use the scheme to partially, and in some cases entirely, offset the cost of installing a gigabit-capable internet line or connection.

Small businesses can get up to £2,500 in funding to cover the cost of having a Gigabit connection installed locally. You can apply as an individual business or as part of a group. Residents can also apply for up to £500 for the same purpose. Additional funding is available for premises in particularly hard-to-reach places. You can view the full criteria and terms for the grant here. Further to the above local COVID grants are becoming available, particularly in local authority areas for instance the city corporation has just launched a new business recovery fund for the square mile in London (many local businesses have already started to take advantage of funds and grants schemes like this).

4. Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

Though not strictly grant funding, we felt SEIS was highly relevant to this post. SEIS is a tax relief designed to encourage investors to invest in very early-stage startups and businesses in the UK. In essence, investors can claim eligible investment against their tax bill, significantly reducing capital risk. Many professional investors and business angels now require SEIS eligibility before they consider a company. You can apply for SEIS status with HMRC here.

SEIS relief allows investors to claim back up to 78% of their investment through tax relief in the first year, currently up to £100,000. Once companies achieve approved SEIS status, they can show this to investors to attract investment. Companies must then submit a compliance statement to HMRC to be able to issue a compliance certificate to investors, who can then use this certificate to claim their tax reliefs available under SEIS.

5. CRACK IT Challenges

The CRACK IT Challenges represent a fund to support challenge-based competitions, encouraging a partnership between educational organisations and SMEs to solve business and scientific challenges which deliver economic benefits. The challenges promote the rapid researching and commercialisation of new technologies.

The principal funder of the grants scheme is the NC3Rs, who develop the challenges alongside program sponsors. You can find the latest challenges on their website. You can apply for a single-phase challenge, a double stage challenge or even submit a challenge idea. Depending on the challenge contract, the funding award can be up to £1,000,000 over three years.

6. EUREKA Eurostars

The EUREKA Eurostars Programme is a European Union funding project lead locally by Innovate UK. Eurostars grants provide funding for the development and research of innovative services, products or processes. You can work with partners in other European projects to collaborate on funding proposals.

To be eligible for a Eurostars grant, you must be a small to medium-sized business in the UK operating in the tech industry and have the intention of collaborating with other European companies. Large companies can still participate in Eurostars projects, but must self-fund. The Eurostars programme can provide 60% match-funded grants with up to 360,000 euros of funding available.

7. Horizon 2020

This award will be closing in 2020.

Horizon 2020 is a large EU fund of 79 billion euros designed to support SMEs all across Europe. You can access funding calls through some UK government agencies and organisations. You can use the funding to:

create something too enormous to build alone
work with companies throughout a value chain
create access to technology and science
find and draw on the skills and expertise you need
investigate opportunities to test innovative ideas and solutions.

You can find out more about Horizon 2020 and the latest grant calls here. Horizon 2020 bids range from £100K to more than £10 million. Horizon 2020 has a complicated bidding process with several different grant calls going out at any one time, as well as various delivery agencies. The grant focuses on EU inclusion, so you will likely have to bid with at least one other company from another member country of the European Union.

8. Biomedical & Energy Catalysts

The Catalyst grant programme aims to fund initiatives invested in creating new knowledge or developing groundbreaking or innovative products, services or processes. Innovate UK runs two different Catalyst Programs for UK businesses involved in the biomedical and energy sectors.

To be eligible for a grant, you must be a UK business working in one of the two Catalyst areas. Depending on how developed your project is, you can work independently or collaborate with another company. There are four core stages of funding, including the feasibility award, Primer award (prototype), Early-stage award (testing) and Late-stage award (more advanced testing).

The Catalyst programme can fund up to 60% of total costs with an overall grant award of between £150,000 and £10,000,000. The funding levels vary depending on the stage of your business and project. Awards typically run three times a year and are open to application at varying times of the year.

9. R&D Tax Credits

The research and development tax credits scheme allows you to claim back a significant amount of your development costs in cash each year!

If you are a startup heavily focused on development, then this scheme is well worth checking out. The paperwork itself is not too complicated to fill in; there are also expert agencies who can help with the application for a price. Currently, R&D Tax Credits mean that you can generally claim back up to 32% in research and development costs each year, which even includes staff and contractor costs.

10. The Prince’s Countryside Fund

Set up to help rural communities in the UK face contemporary challenges, the Prince’s Countryside Fund provides grant funding to projects that have a long-term positive impact in assisting entrepreneurs working and living in the British countryside.

The grants are open to businesses or organisations who seek to increase the potential return and longevity of family-run farm businesses, to sustain and grow rural economies or to provide necessary aid to support areas hit by hardship. For more details on this, check out the grant eligibility and guidance document. The Prince’s Countryside Fund provides up to £50,000 per project, with more than £1 million of funding awarded each year.

11. Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP)

TAP helps UK businesses promote themselves abroad by providing grants which enable companies to visit trade shows overseas, assisting companies to attain foreign export, gain market knowledge and access the advice and support of international trade experts.

To be eligible for TAP, you must be a UK SME already exploring export opportunities; you must be a new exporter (export accounts for less than 25% of your business), and you must attend an event listed on the official TAP Calendar. Your company must also have been exporting for less than ten years, be under the state aid limit and not be receiving any other public funds towards the trade show. Finally, you cannot confirm attendance to the tradeshow before applying for the grant.

Apart from the core eligibility criteria, you will also have to show you are either selling services or products from the UK or that you are adding a significant amount of value to a product or service not coming from the UK.

The Tradeshow Access Programme offers grants between £500 and £2,500 in value. You must match 100% of the grant received from Trade Challenge Partner towards the cost of attending or exhibiting at the tradeshow.

12. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)

KTP grants are awarded to businesses that employ recent graduates working on innovation projects; graduates must be working in coordination with and under the supervision of a research partner. The grant is open to companies large and small, but the percentage of funding varies depending on the project and size of the business. To be applicable for a KTP award, you must be a UK business, charity, educational institution, or a private or public sector research organisation.

Knowledge Transfer Partnership grants cover up to 67% of project costs; larger businesses may only apply for up to 50%. A limit on the financing is not stipulated but is assumed.

13. Arts Council England Funding

The Arts Council runs a rolling grants program to support cultural events such as art and theatre events, as well as other creative initiatives. It is reasonably substantial and is open to both organisations and individuals; there is no limitation on for-profit companies.

The Art Council grant scheme is perfect for organisations which undertake creative projects as part of their primary activity, such as theatre companies and art galleries. Larger corporations can take advantage of the program to partially fund cultural initiatives that have a meaningful impact or preserve long-standing British culture or art.

To apply, you will need to set up an account with the Arts Council website and create your profile. Once your account is verified, you’ll need to complete an eligibility questionnaire to start your application. It’s not a quick application process, with responses typically taking 6-12 weeks after submission, but it is one of the more straightforward schemes available for UK organisations.

The Arts Council England funding programme offers between £1,000 and £100,000 for projects. Grant requests of £15,000 or below take six weeks or less to reach a decision, whereas grants over £15,000 typically take upwards of 12 weeks.

14. New Enterprise Allowance

The New Enterprise Allowance is a grants fund dedicated to supporting unemployed persons in becoming self-employed and running their own business. The scheme provides a grant in the form of a weekly allowance of up to £1,274 over 26 weeks; you are likely eligible if you or your partner are receiving any benefits (JSA, UC, or SA).

Aside from a financial grant, you will also receive a mentor to provide guidance and support through planning, setting up, and running your new business. If you have been out of work for a while, this scheme is perfect for helping you set up a new business. You can find out more about the programme by going to your local Jobcentre Plus and speaking to a work coach.

15. Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

EIS is a tax relief scheme investment that focuses on supporting startups and early-stage businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Approved companies can enable their investors to get back a hefty amount of funding in tax benefits. You can apply for the Enterprise Investment Scheme here.

Investors can claim up to 30% back in tax on investments of up to £1 million per investor in one tax year. Investors can also defer Capital Gains Tax on such shares, carry-back tax relief to a previous year and claim loss relief on any share disposed of at a loss. This array of tax benefits works to incentivise investors to back high-risk startups.

16. British Council Grants

The British Council issue grants on a rolling basis through the Newton Fund. The Newton Fund fosters innovation and research collaborations with partner countries by providing grant funding for research, workshops and travel. These partnerships aim to support economic development in the partner country by developing the scope for innovation and research to support sustainable growth. In this pursuit, the fund issues funding calls and programmes on a rolling basis. These programmes have different criteria and focus on various countries and endeavours.

You will find a list of the latest Newton Fund programmes on the funding and other opportunities page. For an idea of the type of programmes offered, past grant calls included:

Gulf Science Innovation and Knowledge Economy
Creative Economy – Project Evaluation and Guide
Building robust data management, data repository and curation systems
Promote your research or institution in Germany

Funding amounts awarded to grant recipients vary depending on the individual grant.

17. The National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund, formerly the Big Lottery Fund, provides a range of grants that focus primarily on delivering community or charity funding to instigate social change.

However, some programmes, including the following three examples, are available to for-profits, community interest companies and social businesses. The grants tend to range from £300 to £500,000.

Grants for improving lives

The Improving Lives programme, available only in Scotland, aims to fund socially focused organisations working to help people overcome difficulties in their lives and build up resilience. The scheme intends to fund projects which are ‘people-led, connected and strengths-based’. You can read more about how they define these three approaches here.

The Grants for improving lives schemes offers from £10,001 to £500,000 in total funding. Grants over £150,000 require a two-stage application process. Larger grants are more likely to be considered if they have some match funding in place.

People and Places: Large and medium grants

These grant programmes are available in Wales and provide funding for projects where people and organisations are working together in local communities to bring about a positive impact and social change.

The programme limits its applicant scope to organisations such as community interest companies (CICs), social enterprises and not-for-profits. Funding is available from £10,001 to £500,000; medium grants funded up to £100,000, large grants up to £500,000.

Youth Investment Fund

The Youth Investment Fund provides funding to community organisations, social enterprises and youth groups to deliver high-quality youth services in areas across England; successful applicants are funded for several years, promoting sustainable development.

Organisations applying for grants in disadvantaged areas are most likely to be successful. The Youth Investment Fund can provide between £150,000 to £700,000.

18. Patent Box Relief

The Patent Box scheme is a tax relief scheme allowing profitable startups and small companies to almost halve their corporation tax bill in some cases.

This tax relief aims to support innovation in the UK. Therefore, your company will need to own or have exclusive licenses for the rights to a patentable product to be eligible. You can find a detailed guide on Patent Box relief and information on how to apply here. Through Patent Box, you can claim up to 50% off your corporation tax bill. In practice, for most applicants, this equates to just under 40%.

19. Forestry Commission

The Forest Commission runs a range of funding and grant schemes designed to expand, protect and promote the sustainable management of woodlands in Britain. These grants focus on helping businesses and organisations involved in land management and woodland conservation. You can find details of open funding schemes below.

(Closed and legacy grant schemes include FWS and FWPS payment rates, the Woodland Grant Scheme, the Farm Woodland Scheme, the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme and the English Woodland Grant scheme).

Forestry Innovation Fund (DEFRA)

The Forestry Innovation Fund is a public fund put together by DEFRA with more than £300,000 available to fund projects that promote the growth of the forestry industry in local regions.

Country Stewardship

As part of the RDPE program, the Countryside Stewardship Scheme comprises nearly £900 million in grants and funding opportunities that cover a vast range of environmental projects, from conservation projects and habitat restoration endeavours to land management and reedbed creation.

The fund exists to support farmers and woodland managers to protect the environment, acting in support of government management plans for improving existing woodland. You can find details of all the various types of Stewardship funding available here.

Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG)

WCPG provides grant contributions to land managers for projects aimed to create productive multi-purpose woodland, including support to analyse the potential impacts of the proposals on water, biodiversity and historic environment.

The applicant business or individual will need at least 10 hectares of land, where 70% or more of species in the proposed area are considered productive, to be eligible for the scheme. Only areas of land in England will qualify for the grant.

The Woodland Creation Planning Grant can offer £1,000 for an initial land assessment and data collection, with a further £150 per hectare (the initial £1000 is incorporated into the overall payment).

20. Unltd Social Enterprise Funding

Initially based in the UK, Unltd has become a global and influential partner and investor for social entrepreneurs, social businesses and social enterprise across the world. They run a range of grant, support and award programmes to support entrepreneurs right through from setting up a new venture to scaling an existing business. Below is a list of currently active grant programs beneficial for socially-minded companies.

Transform Ageing

The Transform Ageing program aims to drastically improve the approach and service provided to look after the elderly in society, from the perspective of social care, health and wellbeing.

The programme provides support for businesses and organisations who work in several core areas of focus and innovation, developing or delivering solutions to the elderly that foster positive experiences. These include enhancing independence through transportation or mobility, support for carers, making relevant information more accessible, supporting people in making life changes or creating opportunities for connection.

The programme itself is separate from any funding, but you can apply under the programme criteria for one of the Unltd award schemes. You can find the eligibility criteria on the website. Aside from monetary awards, you can get expert advice and support in making your idea a reality or scaling your social organisation. They offer to fund amounts up to £25,000; the early-stage awards do not list available funding amounts, but we assume they are quite modest. However, the venture level awards provide up to £25,000 in funding to established organisations.

Grow It Awards

The Grow It Awards are for social entrepreneurs intent on growing their venture and seeking tailored support, expertise and further funding; this award replaces Unltd’s previous programme of Fast Growth and Build It Awards.

To be eligible, you will need to meet the Unltd criteria as an entrepreneur and as a venture. As well as a monetary award, successful applicants will get expert advice, access to investors, support from corporations and other entrepreneurs, coupled with 12 months of free coaching. The Grow It awards offer to fund up to £15,000.

21. Better Broadband Subsidy Scheme

With a focus on the digital economy to support future growth, the British Government are trying to increase the number of businesses who can access high-speed broadband and internet. The Better Broadband Subsidy Scheme is part of that initiative, offering subsidies to businesses for the installation of broadband if they cannot get access to affordable internet, providing a minimum speed of 2Mb.

This grant is most useful for companies in remote areas who do not have access to standard broadband or fibreoptic, eliminating the need to pay for expensive and comparatively slow satellite internet. If you apply, you can get up to £350 in funding towards broadband infrastructure.

22. Energy Entrepreneurs Fund

The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund is a grant funding programme to support the advancement and presentation of cutting-edge technologies, processes and products in the core sectors of power production, electricity and heat storage and energy efficiency.

The scheme overall seeks the advancement of energy technology by assisting SMEs monetarily as well as with other benefits, including providing incubation space and expert support. Phase six of the fund has recently been launched and is worth over £10 million.

To be successful, applicants will need to present hard evidence to support their case for funding. Evidence should include the likely impact of their project on 2050 low carbon targets, the scope and precise nature of the business opportunity, the value for money and the overall technical viability of the project, as well as a detailed roadmap for development. Up to £1 million is available in funding.

23. Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

This foundation provides a range of grant funding programmes to support large UK organisations who can solve local issues in areas of significant urban deprivation or isolated and vicarious rural communities. Within these two core areas, the foundation is most interested in projects within disability support and healthcare, community support and art, heritage and education sectors.

Your organisation and project must be based in the UK, and you must be a CIC, social enterprise, a not-for-profit registered company or charity to be a grant recipient. Small grant applications tend to receive a response within six weeks.

Grants fall into three tiers: up to £6,000, £6,001 to £12,000 and £12,001 to £45,000. Typically, they require you to put up at least 50% of the total project costs to receive a grant.

24. Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF)

The AHF, established in 1986, is dedicated to promoting and supporting the conservation and re-use of historic buildings to the advantage of local communities across the UK. With this overall objective in mind, AHF is one of the UK’s leading social investors offering a range of grants, loans, advice and much more.

For a project to be eligible for a grant, it must have the potential to create significant economic and social benefits for a deprived or in-need community. You must be able to demonstrate the social and heritage impact of your project as well as be registered as a charity or social enterprise with a limited liability structure.

You also need to prove that you have a clear and attainable roadmap to project completion. It’s advisable to speak to an AHF grants officer before making an application online. Grant funding is available in two brackets; up to £5,000 and over £5,000. The smaller grant takes six weeks to reach a decision, with larger applications considered quarterly by the board. The awarding body gives priority to requests that are already match-funded to 50% or above.

25. Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Fleet Support Scheme

This scheme represents an initiative run by the UK government to accelerate the growth of the commercial market of Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Fleet Support Scheme provides grants to public sector and private sector organisations, including private companies, to buy FCEVs. The main difference is that there’s no cap on the sum awarded to public sector organisations acquiring these vehicles.

As a private company, you can get a maximum of £200,000 per business to cover up to 75% of the cost of acquiring a fleet of FCEVs, including fleet management, car insurance, fuel, project reporting and more. The fund available is £2 million, and the scheme will close when funds are exhausted.

26. Fit For Nuclear

Developed by Nuclear AMRC, Fit For Nuclear is a programme that works with manufacturing firms to prepare for bidding to carry out work in the civilian nuclear supply chain in the UK. The overall plan assures that companies fulfil the necessary standards to supply the nuclear industry.

The scheme aims to support companies with no atomic experience that are involved in high-level precision mechanical engineering, supply instrumentation and control, production of electrical components or manufacture of other devices for nuclear plant operation, construction or decommission.

The programme is eligible for businesses that have ten or more employees or more than £1.6 million in annual turnover. The process is more complicated for micro-enterprises, but the scheme advises that those with exciting products or services should get in touch nonetheless. The overall programme will take 12 – 18 months to complete. The funding amount is not stipulated.

27. Industrial Partnership Awards (IPA)

The IPAs promote collaboration between industry and academically inclined research organisations in academic-led projects. There is a detailed eligibility page which you should read before considering applying. The funding potential is significant, but you or a partner must contribute at least 10% of the overall project cost for the grant to cover the rest.

28. Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)

The IMI’s primary objective is to increase the speed of development of innovative medicines and patient access to these medicines, particularly in areas where social or medical needs are currently unmet.

The programme develops medicines, vaccines and treatments such as next-generation antibiotics. The grant aspect of the programme supports third-party organisations including SMEs, universities and patent organisations in participating in its projects. There are several types of grant offered: one-off financial contributions, provision of personnel, covering other direct costs and free subcontracting. They operate a series of different calls for funding applications at any one time.

Given the highly detailed nature of the programme, you will need to check out the more advanced IMI2 rules before making an application. Funding is dependent on the project and the organisation.

29. Business rates relief

Many businesses pay business rates to their local council, and many are eligible for discounts in the form of business rates relief. That said, many discount schemes are often unknown. How you claim varies from council to council.

There are several core types of business rates relief which can reduce or even exempt your business from paying business rates. These include small business rates relief, hardship relief, enterprise zone relief, charitable relief and rural rate relief. Up to 100% reduction is possible in business rates payable.

30. Barrow Cadbury Trust Grants

This programme principally funds non-profit organisations for policy change and “voice” work. It will not support commercial organisations.

One of the oldest charitable trusts in the UK, the Barrow Cadbury Trust aims to bring about just social change through funding projects that will create significant and sustainable change in society for the better, creating more equality across migration, criminal justice and economic justice.

To apply, you will firstly need to consider whether your proposal fits within the criteria of the Economic Justice programme. Then, fill in an application form detailing your goals, measures and theory of how you can create change through the project. Once you have supplied these details, you can expect a response within ten days as to whether you have progressed to the next stage and should begin making a full application. Amounts of funding available are not explicitly specified, but both small and significant grants are available, the amount depending on varying projects and outcomes.

31. Adur and Worthing small business grant

Run by this local business partnership, their small business grant is designed to provide general funding for small firms and micro-businesses in the Adur and Worthing area, for specific projects or acquisitions that will make a difference to their business.

Your business must have no more than ten employees and must be based in the Adur and Worthing area to be applicable for the small business grant. Furthermore, you must be able to justify how the grant funding will develop or further establish your business. You can apply for matched grant funding of up to £2,500, meaning you must also be able to contribute an amount equal to the grant.

As an example, if you apply for £1,500 in grant funding to buy a new computer system, you must be able to contribute a further £1,500 towards purchasing the computer system, meaning the total purchase would be £3,000.

Coverage: Adur and Worthing Borough, West Sussex, England

32. Business West High Impact Scale-up Coaching Grants

Business West, in collaboration with the European Regional Development Fund, is providing scale-up coaching grants to businesses to hire business coaches to advise them in scaling their business. All SMEs in the West of England who are looking to grow in the next 12 months or create jobs are eligible for this scheme.

You can meet the Business West Enterprise team to chat more about the grant and funding possibilities at the Engine Shed in Bristol before making an application. Funding from £1,000 to £2,500. The grant can cover a maximum of 40% of total project/hiring coach expenses.

Coverage: West of England

33. Arun Valley Business grant

In collaboration with the local enterprise and apprenticeship platform, Arun Valley Borough Council are providing grants for new businesses who need seed funding, and more established small businesses who can achieve a meaningful objective by gaining grant funding. They will award up to £1,500 per company. The scheme is for companies located in the Arun Valley area; they also have free startup courses and business startup workshops available in Bognor Regis.

Coverage: Arun District, West Sussex, England

34. New Anglia Small Grants Scheme

Setup and run by the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, the small grants scheme provides to support businesses. The grant is available for companies wanting to expand or grow, build services or products or increase their efficiency or productivity.

Eligible companies must be located in specific parts of Norfolk and Suffolk. Application forms are available on the New Anglia Growth hub website. Grants are available from £1,000 to £25,000 and will pay for up to 20% of the total cost of any project. The scheme has funded nearly £900,000 so far over 95 different projects put forward by businesses.

Coverage: Norfolk and Suffolk, England

35. New Anglia Growing Business Fund

The Growing Business Fund is a larger version of the small grants scheme offered by New Anglia with slightly different criteria. It is designed to support more established businesses who are looking to grow, invest, recruit or expand. The Growing Business Fund is in partnership with New Anglia LEP, Finance East and Suffolk County Council.

The grant provides up to £500,000 in funding and covers a maximum of 20% of the overall cost of a project. For example, if may apply for £400,000 for a £2 million project, but you will need to come up with the remaining £1.6 million.

Coverage: Norfolk and Suffolk, England

36. BG Kick Start Grant Scheme

This scheme is a combined grant funding initiative from the UK Steel Enterprise fund and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council regeneration division. The Kick Start Grant Scheme is designed to support small businesses and new ventures. The only criteria for applicants stipulate that your project must be a startup in the Blaenau Gwent area; you can apply by contacting the council’s economic development team.

The grant is 50% match-funded, and the maximum amount of funding provided is £2,000. In other words, you may apply for £2,000 provided you have £2,000 of your own money to invest in the business.

Coverage: Blaenau Gwent County, Wales

37. BG Effect Business Fund

Very similar to the BG Kick Start scheme above with the same application criteria, the BG Effect Business Fund exists to support startup businesses in the Blaenau Gwent area. They provide up to 80% of the total funding for any project up to the amount of £2,000, and you can also get free expert advice and support from your local enterprise network through the scheme.

Coverage: Blaenau Gwent County, Wales

38. Broadland District Enterprise grant

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This is a funding initiative from Broadland District aimed exclusively at existing small businesses who need funding to expand. To be eligible, you will need to have fewer than ten staff and reside in the Broadland District; you must also submit your business accounts as well as quotes for the equipment or work you plan to cover with the grant as a way to expand your business. Enterprise Grants can provide up to £750 in funding.

Coverage: Broadland District, Norfolk, England

39. Caerphilly Business development grant

Run by the Caerphilly County Borough Council, the business development grant is for small businesses in the manufacturing industry or business who supply to the manufacturing industry, or companies where 60% or more of their operations are B2B. The grant covers the purchase of new equipment or services, which must go towards improving the business, i.e. capital equipment, websites and eCommerce, business planning, marketing and feasibility studies.

To apply, you will need to provide profit and loss statements, cash flow projections, a business plan and a management account for the last two years if you have traded for more than six months. You will also need to provide a minimum of two quotes for anything you plan to purchase with the grant. You can apply by reaching out to the business enterprise support team in the council. This scheme is a discretionary grant of up to £2,000 and can cover up to 45% of the cost of new equipment or services.

Coverage: Caerphilly County, Wales

40. Caerphilly Commercial improvement grants

This grant is for tenants or owners of business properties in Caerphilly County, whose building has become run down over time and requires renovation. These renovations include exterior landscaping, improvements to physical infrastructure, extension or the development of commercial or retail buildings.

To successfully apply for the commercial improvement grant, you need to show how your project can create additional jobs or keep existing jobs, contribute to the environment, bring vacant properties into use, or enhance the local environment where the business premises is situated. This grant typically goes to (but is not limited to) retail shop owners. It could also apply to other areas, including office spaces, under the right conditions.

You need to fill out an expression of interest form to begin the grant application process. You’ll then need to provide an application based on the council specification. This grant provides up to 50% of the costs of any work to a maximum of £15,000 for a single property.

Coverage: Caerphilly County, Wales

41. Chichester District Council grant programme

The Chichester District Council grants programme exists to support small businesses and economic growth within the Chichester District. They offer two types of grant funding; the first, “fast track”, is a quicker, less intensive grant application process for grants of under £1,000. Above this, there’s a general grants programme for sums more than £1,000. There’s no maximum figure provided.

To be eligible for a grant, you will need to meet the three priorities of the council’s grant funding agenda and the six principles applicable to any project. To apply, you will need to contact a funding advisor at the Chichester District Council.

Coverage: Chichester District, West Sussex

42. Chorley Shop Front Improvement Grant

Run by the Chorley Council, the Shop Front Improvement Grant is a grant scheme for local retailers who wish to improve the visual exterior of vacant or occupied retail properties. To be eligible, you must be a leaseholder or owner of a retail property in Chorley town centre. You can claim up to 75% of the project costs up to a maximum of £10,000.

Coverage: Chorley, Lancashire, England

43. Business Investment for Growth Grant (BIG)

The BIG grant is for businesses in the Chorley area who wish to expand by making capital expenditures, creating jobs in the process. Expenses the grant can cover include renovation or building of business premises, security improvements and engineering works.

You can apply by submitting an application form on the council website. Get up to 50% of the project costs up to a maximum of £10,000 per business, with grants of £2,000 available for each job created.

Coverage: Chorley, Lancashire, England

44. Relocation Grant

Businesses who choose to relocate permanently to Chorley and who bring at least 20 long-term jobs to the area within 18 months of relocating may apply for what is a reasonably sizeable grant, serving as an attractive incentive to relocate.

The criteria for application is not restrictive, with the only exclusion being retail businesses. You can receive up to £25,000, with £1,250 provided per job brought to the area.

Coverage: Chorley, Lancashire, England

45. Investment Fund

Coventry City Council runs the Investment Fund in collaboration with Warwickshire County Council and Coventry University Enterprises. The grant exists to support small and well-established businesses in need of financial support to start or grow.

The scheme is specifically for businesses with less than 250 employees who are looking to invest in capital assets such as computer hardware, software, machinery and new premises, among others. You may not have received a grant previously from the council, and you must be able to show the need for the award for your business to make the overall investment.

To apply, you will need to contact one of the Business Development advisors at the council to start the process and guide you through. The grant will cover 30% of the cost of a project with a maximum project contribution of between £1,000 and £50,000.