Business grants you can apply for now

There are hundreds of business grant schemes in the UK with varying eligibility. Criteria can include business size, sector, age of business and location.

Some grants are paid in full, while others are match funded. This means you have to match a proportion of the funding yourself, from a partner business or via another source of funding.

You often need to provide a business plan when applying for a grant. Speak to your accountant for advice on creating an effective plan.

Read more advice on applying for grants here and see grants you may be able to apply for below.

Innovate UK grants

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the Government’s innovation agency which backs business-led innovation in all sectors across the UK.

Innovate UK runs many funding schemes which provide grants or loans. Some funding is focused on specific areas such as net zero, health and wellbeing and advanced technologies. The organisation’s ‘open scope’ funding supports innovations in any technology or market as long as the idea has sufficient ambition and potential.

Smart is an ongoing scheme from Innovate UK that invites small and medium sized businesses and their partners to apply for grants for “game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovations that can significantly impact the UK economy”. Applications open throughout the year.

Projects of six to 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £500,000 and can be single or collaborative. Projects of 19 to 26 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £2 million and must be collaborative. Full eligibility details for Innovate UK Smarts grants are here.

You can see the full list of Innovate UK funding currently open for applications here.

Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

The Government’s £210m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme provides funding for homes and businesses in rural areas that are experiencing slow broadband speeds.

Grants of up to £4,500 are available to help cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband.

Find out more here.

Grants for electric vehicles

The UK Government has several grant schemes to encourage businesses to switch to electric vehicles (EVs). They include:

• Workplace Charging Scheme which covers up to 75% of the total costs of the purchase and installation of EV chargepoints.
• Grants that provide SMEs with funding to install EV chargepoints and related supporting infrastructure for their staff and fleet vehicles.
• Grants that allow some types of low-emission vehicles to be purchased more cheaply.

Read our guide to the advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles here.

UnLtd funding for social entrepreneurs

UnLtd supports social entrepreneurs in the UK. Social entrepreneurs are business owners running organisations with an environmental or social benefit.

Funding of up to £8,000 is available for start-ups and up to £18,000 can be accessed by scale-ups.

The funding also includes non-financial support such as access to mentors and workshops.

Find out more here.

North of Tyne Growth Fund

The North of Tyne Grant Fund is for small and medium-sized businesses looking to expand or establish new operations in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Grants to cover up to 30% of expenditure are available.

The minimum grant is £20,000 and the maximum is usually £200,000, unless the applicant can demonstrate that the project would create exceptional impact.

Find out more here.

Manufacturing Growth Programme

The Manufacturing Growth Programme supports SME manufacturers. 

Businesses that join the programme may be eligible for a grant to cover parts of the cost of implementing a business improvement project.

The maximum project value is £10,000 and the minimum grant value is £1,000.

Find out more here.

Made Smarter West of England

This scheme helps businesses in the West of England to introduce technology to tackle business challenges.

Match-funded grants up to £20,000 are available for businesses to invest in digital technology, hardware or software.

Find out more here.

ReAct+ for businesses in Wales

ReAct+ is a Welsh Government scheme that helps unemployed people get back into work by providing funding to employers.

Businesses that employ a qualifying recruit get up to £3,000 in quarterly instalments of up to £750 for the first 12 months to help cover their wages. They also receive up to £1,000 for job-related skills training that the employee needs.

An additional £1,000 (£250 per quarter) is available for the recruitment of a disabled person or a young person aged 18-24. For employers that recruit a young disabled person, an additional £2,000 (£500 per quarter) is on offer.

Find out more here.

Techstart for businesses in Northern Ireland

This scheme provides grants of up to £35,000 to help entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland explore the viability and commercial potential of an innovative concept.

Find out more here.

Low Carbon Workplaces

Businesses wanting to invest in major energy efficiencies are often held back by the cost of technology. This scheme aims to tackle that by providing match-funded grants of between £1,000 and £6,750 to cover a third of the cost of various energy-saving measures.

It is aimed at small and medium-sized business located in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire.

Find out more here.

Grants for businesses in the creative industries

There are four main funding bodies in the UK that provide grant funding businesses in creative sectors.

Creative businesses and organisations in England can access funding from Arts Council England. Schemes include:

• National Lottery Project Grants for arts, libraries and museums projects.
• Developing your Creative Practice for individuals who are cultural and creative practitioners and want to take time to focus on their creative development.

Creative businesses and organisations in Wales can access funding from Arts Council of Wales. Schemes include:

• Create provides small grants of up to £10,000 and larger grants over £10,000 for the development and creation of high-quality arts experiences.
• Creative Steps for individuals and organisations who have experienced barriers to accessing our funding.

Creative businesses and organisations in Scotland can access funding from Creative Scotland. Schemes include:

• Open Fund for Individuals which provides grants of between £500 and £100,000.

Creative businesses and organisations in Northern Ireland can access funding from Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Schemes include:

• Small Grants Programme for creative organisations.

Other sources of grants

Other sources of business grants are the Government websites for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The UK Government is also piloting a new service which lists grants across the UK.

Local councils often provide grants to small businesses. Find your local council website here.

In England, local Growth Hubs give advice on grants as do Business Gateway offices in Scotland and local enterprise agencies in Northern Ireland.

Last updated: 20th March 2024