Business Development

Organisations in Wales can apply for grants of up to £250,000 to support capital investment in equipment. The funding is made available by the Welsh Government through the SMART Capital Equipment Fund to enable businesses, research organisations, and academic institutions to purchase equipment that increases their R&D capabilities, promotes the reuse of products and materials and improves productivity through innovative technologies. Applican...

As part of a scheme to reinvigorate the city centre, Bristol City Council is making £1.3 million in funding available for small or micro businesses that wish to open new premises in vacant commercial buildings. The Vacant Commercial Property Grant Scheme will award grants of up to £10,000 to small businesses, sole traders, charities, CICs, and arts and culture groups looking to lease or rent a vacant commercial property located within the ci...

Creative developers and start-up studios are invited to bid for a share of £5 million in government funding to turn their new video game ideas into market leaders. The UK Games Fund (UKGF) Content Fund will provide UK games studios with grants of between £50,000 and £150,000 to support games in development and ready them for market. The funding, which will be available over the next 18 months, will support the development of intellectual pr...

Buckinghamshire Council has launched a new fund to support small rural businesses. The Bucks Rural Business Grant programme will provide £1.8 million in capital grants over two years to help micro and small enterprises in rural areas to grow and create jobs. Businesses can apply for grants of up to £300,000 to cover the cost of building works and equipment, and can be used for a variety of purposes, including net zero infrastructure, farm di...

Community businesses in England that are looking to launch or in the early stage of launching a community share issue can apply for grants and equity match funding of up to £25,000. The funding is being made available through the Power to Change Community Shares Booster Fund. Three funding streams are available. Pre-grant support- which provides a few days of support for early-stage activity to get community businesses started. Developmen...

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to support businesses with water-efficiency projects. The funding will enable businesses to work with a Scottish Enterprise sustainability or innovation specialist to assess if it is feasible to carry out a water-related project to help them reduce costs and improve efficiency. Projects can include water technology, water supply, distribution, wastewater treatment, energy recovery, hydro-electricity, and...

£4 million in funding is being made available to support arts, humanities and social science researchers to develop and bring new products, processes, services and experiences to market. The Social science, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy (SHAPE) Catalyst programme will equip individuals or teams from UK research organisations with the skills they need to explore the commercial application of their research. At least three roun...

Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the Welsh government has announced new funding to help maintain Wales’ business, economic and research ties with European regions. The Agile Cymru programme will award grants of up to £40,000 to support Welsh businesses and organisations to increase economic co-operation in both the Irish Sea region and with other European regions. The funding could be used for travel, engagement, consultancy, forming...

Grants and affordable loans are available to support charities and social enterprises working to improve the lives of people in their local community. Through the Community Enterprise Fund, Social Investment Business (SIB), in partnership with the Asda Foundation, will award a mixture of grants and unsecured loans up to £50,000 to support community organisations across England and Wales. Loans will be available over four to seven years at an...

The East Midlands Creative Consortium is offering a £1.3 million support programme to boost the growth of creative microbusinesses in Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Rutland, and Lincolnshire. The Create Growth Programme, funded by the government, aims to help 100 businesses develop over the next three years through tailored support packages, leading to job creation and investment readiness. Eligible businesses include those operating in advertis...

The New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is encouraging small and medium-sized businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk to apply for grants ranging from £1,000 to £25,000 before the Small Grant Scheme comes to a close. The grants are intended to be used for investments in production, equipment, and expansion. Since 2014, the LEP has awarded £5 million to firms supporting local development and growth and this has been matched with £21 mil...

Small and medium-sized businesses (including start-ups) in the construction industry are being encouraged to apply for funding to help them digitize and find new ways of doing business. Thirty grants are available for 30% funding between £1,000 and £5,000 towards consultancy services; the purchase of systems/bespoke software development; or hardware such as tablets, smart phones, monitors and laptops, barcode scanners and accessories. The fu...

Farmers in England can now apply for funding of between £25,000 and £300,000 to help them boost their businesses and add extra value to their produce. The funding is being made available through the new £30 million Farming Investment Fund (FIF) . Funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs the grants can be used to purchase equipment to process, diversify and add value to their products after they have been harvested...

A new multi-million pound social investment fund focused on tackling inequality and promoting racial justice in the UK, has opened to applications from diverse-led social enterprises looking to grow their impact. The Growth Impact Fund, managed by Big Issue Invest, will invest between £50,000 and £1.5 million in social businesses to support early-stage founders from underrepresented groups who have previously been excluded from investment. I...

More than £25 million in funding is available over the next four years to support the Scottish manufacturing industry to reduce emissions and cut waste. The funding will support businesses that wish to pursue business growth by developing low carbon products, processes, technologies or services. Grants of over £150,000 are available, with amounts varying depending on the type of proposal – whether it is a research and development, a capita...

£14 million in funding is available to support fishing businesses and wider marine organisations in Scottish coastal communities. The funding, which is made available through the Scottish Government’s Marine Fund Scotland, will support projects that improve the marine environment, reduce carbon emissions and support coastal communities. Key aims will include helping to improve safety standards and upskilling the safety training of individua...

To help support the long-term sustainability, resilience and prosperity of England’s seafood sector, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has relaunched the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, with at least £6 million in funding available every year until April 2025. The scheme, which is open to individuals, businesses, local authorities, universities, research institutes or new entrants to the industry, will continue to provide financial ass...

Community Businesses in England that are crowdfunding new initiatives and projects can receive match funding from Power to Change up to a maximum of £10,000. The funding which is being made available through the Community Business Crowdmatch programme can be used to help launch new ideas to help local neighbourhoods, help meet increased demand, save community spaces or help bridge a funding gap. The match funding will be on a £ for £ basi...

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has announced a new competition to provide support for small tech firms and digital start-ups. The Digital Growth Grant scheme will award one successful bidder with up to £12.09 million in funding to deliver skills training and support services to the digital and tech sector, particularly in transformative/emerging technologies, over two years and help grow regional support networks across...

The Women’s Organisation, in partnership with Power to Change, is offering business mentoring and a financial contribution of up to £1,000 to help strengthen community businesses in the Liverpool City Region. The support is being made available through the Financial Capability Improvement Academy, which aims to help organisations to maximise their impact within the community, build their financial capabilities and develop strong support net...

To help provide certainty to the seafood sector, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is to relaunch the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS), with funding available up to April 2025. The fund will deliver investment to safeguard the long-term sustainability, resilience and prosperity of England’s seafood sector, coastal communities and marine environment. The relaunched FaSS will replace the existing scheme, which will no longer be consi...

A new £400,000 green innovation fund is offering small to medium sized enterprises up to 60% funding towards projects worth up to £25,000 to help them deliver sustainable products, processes or services which aid the transition to a low carbon economy. The Eco-I North West Capital Grant Scheme will give businesses, charities, and social enterprises based in the North West of England the opportunity to collaborate with the regions leading uni...

The UK Government has launched a new digital scheme to support small and medium sized businesses in adopting digital technologies so they can grow. Under the Help to Grow: Digital scheme, businesses can receive discounts of up to £5,000 off the costs of buying approved Digital Accounting and Customer Relationship Management software that will help them to effectively manage their finances and build customer relationships, enabling them to sca...

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...

Small to medium-sized UK businesses (SMEs) exporting, or thinking about exporting, can apply for support to attend and exhibit at approved overseas trade shows and conferences. The UK Government’s UK Tradeshow Programme aims to educate SMEs about the benefits of exhibiting, by providing both general and event-specific training on how to make the most of trade shows, with some businesses also receiving a grant of either £2,000 or £4,000 to...

Zero Waste Scotland, in partnership with Social Investment Scotland, has launched a £5 million fund to help social enterprises and the wider third sector make the transition to carbon net zero. The Social Enterprise Net Zero Transition Fund will support social enterprises, charities, and community organisations to become carbon neutral through activities including waste reduction, reducing energy consumption, transitioning to sustainable tran...

Power to Change has teamed up with Crowdfunder to launch Community Business Crowdmatch to support new or existing community businesses. Crowdmatch will match fund each £1 raised by community businesses to a maximum of £10,000. This could include launching new business ideas to help their local area; to help meet increased demand; save a community space; or help bridge a funding gap. Through this fund Power to Change are particularly keen t...

Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support registered sole traders and small to medium sized enterprises working in moving image for storytelling, including film, television, games and immersive media, to build meaningful connections and create opportunities for business growth. Creative England’s Business Planning Grants can be used to subsidise the cost of working with an expert to support companies in the English regions outside of...

Grants of up to £5,000 are available to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire to help them invest in low carbon technologies and energy-saving upgrades. The purpose of the grant funding is to help businesses reduce their energy bills and overheads, cut their carbon emissions, and boost their eco-credentials; as part of the UK goal to achieve carbon-neutrality...

Creative England has reopened their New Ideas Fund to applications from individuals and small to medium sized enterprises working on screen-based storytelling including film, television, animation, games, immersive media or technology that supports these industries. Grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 are available to support the development of new and innovative ideas to help business growth in the English regions outside of London. Applic...

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in partnership with the British Film Institute, has launched a £7 million one-year pilot fund to boost international development and distribution opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector. The UK Global Screen Fund will support the sector including film, TV, animation, documentary and interactive narrative games to become more competitive internationally by funding business de...

In response to the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Scottish Government has launched a new £1 million digital support programme to help Scotland’s creative and cultural sector develop digital capabilities. The Creative Digital Initiative will provide financial support to help small and medium-sized creative and cultural businesses improve digital marketing skills and explore new ways to reach out to and engage with people....

In response to the Covid-19 restrictions, the UK Government has launched a support scheme to help businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors in England to reopen safely. The Restart Grant scheme will provide eligible businesses in the non-essential retail sector with a one-off grant of up to £6,000, and businesses in the hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym sectors with a one-off grant of up to £18,000. Local coun...

The Welsh Government has announced a further £30 million in funding for hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses affected by the ongoing Coronavirus restrictions. The latest round of the Economic Resilience Fund will support small, medium and large businesses employing ten or more staff in the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors as well as related supply chain businesses. This targeted support has been made available in recognition of...

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...