Grants are a form of financial assistance, offered to encourage companies to undertake or to continue activities that would not otherwise happen.

Although grants are normally non-repayable, they may not cover the whole of the project costs, but are intended to supplement funds the company has raised by an alternative method.

With thousands of grants available from numerous sources and for a myriad of purposes, GrantsNet claims its portal can help firms find suitable grant opportunities quickly, thus saving a small company valuable time.

Searches can be done for profit and not-for-profit organisations in specific regions of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The results are then further narrowed down by “grant types”, including Business Start-Up, Business Development, Staff & Training, Technology and Marketing.

John McLoughlin, a director of GrantsNet says it is “is streamlining the whole process – from the recognition of a need for grant support for an enterprising project, to acquiring the necessary funds. All too often scarce resources are invested in searching for a suitable funding scheme, GrantsNet now addresses this.”

To search for a grant go to www.grantsnet.co.uk. For more information on grants and funding, see our Finance channel.