Business Development

The Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland have announced that the Social Entrepreneurs Programme has re-opened for applications. Grants of between £1,000 and £7,000 are available to individuals with an interest in helping people or improving the environment develop the skills, strengths and networks necessary to start up and grow social enterprises, charities, and community projects. People with all abilities and from all backgrounds are invite...

Businesses across the UK are being invited to collaborate with an academic or research organisation on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), a scheme that helps businesses to innovate and grow. Up to £40 million in total is available for part funding of KTPs that will offer businesses the opportunity to access new skills and the latest academic thinking to help them deliver a specific, strategic innovation project. KTPs can last between 12...

The Welsh Government has launched a new £6.5 million fund to increase the use of recycled materials. The £6.5 million fund will offer grants to businesses of any size seeking capital investment funding to increase their use of recycled materials in manufactured products, components or packaging. Eligible businesses may either apply for a small scale grant from approximately £25,000 up to €200,000 or a ‘large scale’ grant from €200,0...

Funding of £500,000 is being made available to find and support the UK’s most promising female innovators, helping them develop their ideas and expand their businesses. Grants of £50,000 each and a bespoke package of mentoring, coaching and business support are offered to female inventors to develop solutions that tackle major economic and societal change, such as climate change, developing new treatments and services for healthcare patien...

Innovate UK has announced the launch of its £2.2 million Young Innovators Programme in partnership with The Prince’s Trust. Through the programme, grants of £5,000, as well as one-on-one coaching and an allowance to cover living costs, will be available to 18-30 year olds with a creative and ground-breaking business idea. Studies from Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation support organisation, shows that half of young people in th...

The Scottish Funding Council has announced that the next deadline for applications under its Follow on Innovation Voucher Scheme is the 24th April 2020. The awards are specifically intended to encourage existing partnerships that have previously collaborated and jointly received funding. This can include the Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher awards scheme or any other funded activity. Businesses in partnership with Higher Education I...

Community groups in England can apply for grants of up to £15,000 as well as tailored business support to help them develop their community businesses ideas. The funding gives community groups the early stage finance they need to carry out consultations with local people to develop a community business idea, and will also give them support and tools to start setting it up. The funding is being made available through the Community Business...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has extended the deadline for businesses to apply for customs support funding to the 31st January 2021.  This is to ensure that trade with the EU continues as smoothly as possible after Brexit. Customs agents currently help businesses who trade outside the EU. Businesses based in, or with a branch in, the UK can apply for funding to support training costs for businesses who complete customs declarations, or who i...

Waste prevention charity WRAP has announced a new £500,000 fund to support new projects that can demonstrate the commercial potential of biochemical processing options for high-volume challenging / hard-to-tackle streams of wasted food. Partnerships between industry and research organisations can apply for grants of between £20,000 and £100,000 to identify new viable options that can be brought to operation to minimise food waste and relea...

Disadvantaged and under-represented communities that want to develop successful community businesses by issuing community shares, can apply for development grants of up to £10,000 and equity investments of up to £100,000. The funding is available to both new and existing community businesses. The funding is however not suitable for newly formed community groups that are in the early stages of developing a community business proposal. The fun...

The government has announced a new £1.5 million fund to support community pubs. The funding will help an estimated 100 new groups to take ownership of and save their local pub or support their essential community services based in pubs in rural and remote areas. The £1.15 million fund will support community pubs through two key programmes. £650,000 will be allocated to the More Than a Pub programme which provides small grants and speciali...

Food companies in the UK can apply for funding of up to £50,000 to offset the cost of sending surplus food to good causes and thereby helping people in need. The funding is part of the FareShare £3million Surplus with Purpose Fund and can be used to cover the additional staff costs needed for packing and sorting edible surplus food, or in building, implementing and managing new processes. It could also cover packaging and transportation cos...

The government has announced the launch of a new £10 million capacity fund to generate innovative proposals for new business-backed development corporations and similar delivery models. Local authorities individually or working in partnership can apply for up to £10 million over three years for proposals focus on housing and economic growth to regenerate their areas. Up to 10 proposals will be funded. To register an interest in applying f...

Funding is still available from the £3million Community Shares Booster programme which is being managed by Power to Change. This is an independent charitable trust that supports and develops community businesses in England. The programme provides existing community businesses that are either planning to make or have recently launched community shares offers with match funding of up to £100,000 in equity investment made on equal terms with o...

Businesses and Organisations in Scotland can apply for grants of up to £25,000 to encourage cycling as a healthy, sustainable and accessible way to commute. The funding is available for capital projects that encourage staff and visitors to travel by bike. The type of projects that can be supported includes the installation of secure and sheltered cycle parking; upgrades to shower, changing and drying facilities; the purchase of office pool bi...

Applications are now open for UK businesses to apply for grants of up to £2,500 to attend international trade shows. The financial support is for UK SMEs to participate in overseas exhibitions and conferences that cover a range of sectors, from education to aerospace and creative to maritime. Successful businesses can use the grants to fund direct exhibiting costs, including stand costs and conference fees. The funding is being made available...

Rural and urbarn communities that wish to take over the ownership of their failing local pub can apply for loan and grant funding of up to £100,000 as well as business development support through the More than a Pub programme. This is the 2nd phase of the programme which supported 190 communities and saw 28 pubs open their doors under community ownership from 2016 to 2019. The programme is run by the Plunkett Foundation and supported by Power...