Business Development

Deutsche Bank has announced that its Awards for Creative Enterprise (DBACE) is open for applications. The Awards will provide a cash prize fund of £60,000 and business support for a year to aspiring individuals who want to go into business in the creative industries. Applicants must be 18-30 years old and have a strong idea or an existing business in the creative industries. They must have a desire to create positive social impact through th...

Funding of £1 million has been made available by the Scottish Government for childminding businesses which have been financially impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions that have been placed on them. Grants of up to £1,000 will be made available to eligible childminding providers based on their level of need, to support their sustainability and recovery from the crisis. Further detail on the funding is still to be developed an...

The British Film Institute has announced that the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England is now open to applications. The Fund aims to support independent cinemas whose businesses have been interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, as they transition back to a viable and sustainable operating model during April-June 2021. The Fund will provide Business Sustainability Grants of between £10,000 and £200,000 pe...

From late January 2021, adventure and marine tourism businesses in Scotland will be able to apply for grants of up to £15,000 through the Marine and Outdoor Tourism Re-start Fund. Administered by VisitScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, the fund will support essential re-commissioning and re-start costs for businesses, aimed at those who have been significantly affected by the pandemic due to their seasonality and high set up cost...

Business start-ups that are looking to create a product or business using location or property data can apply for grants of up to £20,000. The funding is being made available through the Geovation Accelerator programme. This is a partnership between the Ordnance Survey and HM Land Registry that aims to help launch and grow innovative solutions to social, environmental and economic challenges that harness the power of data and technology....

Community businesses that want to raise community shares capital that can support their recovery, or expand their business in response to Covid-19 can apply for grant funding of up to £5,000 and matched equity investment of up to £25,000 through the Power to Change ReBoost Fund. A total of £375,000 is available. Additional business development support may also be provided where required, and will be prioritised to help community businesse...

Social Investment Business has announced that their Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund will close to new applications at 11.59pm on the 31st March 2021. The £25 million fund provides emergency loans of between £100,000 to £1,500,000 with no fees or interest for the first twelve months to social enterprises and charities which are facing financial difficulty and disruption to their trading due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Fund is intended...

Grants of up to £1,000 are available to support established and new community businesses in the East of England through the current pandemic. The funding is being made available through a partnership between East Anglian housebuilder Hopkins Homes and national charity the Plunkett Foundation. As well as funding, the scheme is also providing free support and expertise from the charity’s central support service and network of advisors. Gra...

Power to Change has teamed up with Crowdfunder to launch Community Business Crowdmatch to support new or existing community businesses responding to the Covid-19 crisis. The scheme will help community businesses, providing services or activities which help local people experiencing disproportionate challenge and difficulty as a result of the crisis, by match-funding each £1 raised, to a maximum of £10,000. Power to Change are keen to suppor...

In response to the coronavirus, Social Investment Business have launched a Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund for social enterprises and charities which have been adversely impacted by the pandemic. The £25 million fund provides emergency loans of between £100,000 to £1,500,000 without requiring personal guarantees and charging no interest fees or interest for twelve months. The Fund is intended to provide working capital until normal busine...

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 and not for profit organisations 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 p...

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...

Power to Change, the independent trust that supports community businesses in England, is launching a new £5 million package of support to enable community businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis to adapt, renew and rebuild their businesses so they can remain financially viable and best serve their local communities during the pandemic’s ‘new normal’. The Community Business Renewal scheme is the second part of Power to Change’s £12...

Businesses in England that are required to shut because of local Covid-19 lockdowns or targeted restrictions will now be able to claim up to £1,500 per property every three weeks. Payments will be triggered by a national decision to close businesses in a high incidence area. The largest businesses will receive £1,500 every three weeks they are required to close. Smaller businesses that have an annual rent or mortgage bill below £51,000, and...

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Government has announced two new funding packages worth £15 million to support the tourism sector. A £14 million Hotel Recovery Programme will help to secure up to 3,000 jobs at Scotland’s larger hotels until the start of the summer 2021 tourism season. Grants of up to £250,000 will be available to eligible businesses in addition to a suite of wrap-around business support and advice. A...

The Arts Council of Wales are making grants of between £100,000 and £3 million available to support arts organisations which have been affected by COVID-19 and are trying to sustain themselves until they can resume publicly accessible activity in 2021 and beyond. The Wales Cultural Recovery Fund (Revenue) for the Arts will support activities until March 2021, and will pay particular attention to those who are experiencing significant financi...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has launched a new £20 million fund to help smaller businesses in England recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic Small and medium sized businesses will have access to grants of between £1,000 - £5,000 to help them access new technology and other equipment as well as professional, legal, financial or other advice to help them get back on track. The support will be fully...

Leicestershire County Council has launched a £750,000 fund to help rural businesses and independent retail businesses recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Through the Leicestershire Business Recovery Fund small businesses from every sector within the county with fifty employees or less can apply for grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 to help them survive the downturn by, for instance, developing online sales and diversify...

Grants of up to £5,000 will be made available to small businesses in tourist destinations across England to help them adapt their businesses following the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the government’s drive to boost the recovery of the economy, funding will be distributed immediately from its new £10 million Kick-starting Tourism Package to help kick start tourism in time for the summer. Funding will be allocated to Local Growth Hubs b...

More than 50,000 rural Welsh homes and businesses will have access to more funding for better broadband through the UK Governments Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. The Welsh Government has added funding to the existing Voucher Scheme to provide vouchers worth £7,000 for SMEs and £3,000 for residential premises to help cover the upfront costs of installing new gigabit-capable internet connections. The vouchers subsidise the cost of building...

Small B&Bs and other small serviced accommodation businesses adversely affected by the covid-19 crisis can apply for financial support from the Scottish Government’s £3 million Business Support Fund. B&Bs who have not been able to access support through other schemes, and have been operating from a personal bank account due to not having a business bank account can apply for a one-off payment of £3,000. Businesses must have been trading fo...

In response to the coronavirus, Power to Change has suspended all current funding programmes to focus on supporting community businesses affected by the crisis. The Trust has now made small grants of up to £2,000 available to support community pubs in England who have experienced a reduction in income due to the Covid-19 restrictions. The aim of the Fund is to help them to adjust their activities, and provide redesigned services and community...

The UK Government has announced that they are doubling investment in the Fast Start Competition to encourage innovative technology and research-focussed businesses and start-ups to develop new ways of working and help build resilience across industries and communities. The additional £20 million funding, which is managed by Innovate UK, comes from a £211 million government investment package to encourage businesses developing new technologie...

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced a new £14 million fund to support Zoos and Aquariums in England in response to financial losses incurred due to Covid-19. Establishments covered by the Zoo Licensing Act will be able to bid for grants of up to £100,000 through the Zoo Support Fund. The grant can be used to cover animal care costs that can not be lowered such as keepers’ wages, animal feed and bedding, vete...

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Power to Change have launched a £12 million crisis support package to provide immediate and medium-term support for community businesses supporting the vulnerable and isolated in England. The emergency package includes £7 million in rescue funding, which offers grants of up to £25,000 to contribute to trading incomes losses incurred between April and June 2020. This will initially be available to cur...

The Welsh Government has announced that the second phase of the £200 million Economic Resilience Fund is open for applications. This phase is targeted at microbusinesses, SMEs and large businesses of critical social or economic importance to Wales. Micro businesses with a reduction of over 40% in turnover since the 1st March 2020 to apply for grants of up to £10,000. Grants of up to £100,000 are available to small and medium sized firms wi...

Charities and, social enterprises in disadvantaged areas facing financial hardship and disruption to their trading due to the coronavirus will be able to apply for emergency funding from a £100 million programme of loans and investment. The emergency package is made up of a £25 million Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund to provide emergency loans with no fees or interest for the first twelve months; £29 million for smaller, emergency loans t...

The Prince’s Trust and NatWest have launched a £5million grant fund for young entrepreneurs affected by coronavirus. The Fund is available to entrepreneurs aged 18-30, who can apply for grants and tailored support from today. Grants can be used to maintain core business operations during the crisis, as well as meet any existing financial commitments, such as paying for essential equipment or settling invoices from suppliers. In conjunction...

More than 90,000 ratepayers across Scotland will be able to benefit from one-off grants to help them deal with the impact of the coronavirus. Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of between £18,001 up to and including £50,999 will be able to apply for a one-off grant of £25,000. £10,000 is also available as a one-off grant to small businesses in receipt of the small business scheme or rural relief. The aim of th...

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...

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...

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...