Each year, hundreds of millions of pounds in grants, as well as finance such as loans and equity investment, are on offer to help SMEs undertake an array of business-related projects and activities, such as:
• Retraining and employing new staff
• Investing in new facilities, equipment and processes
• Carrying out innovative R&D
• Diversifying into new markets
• Undertaking marketing initiatives
• Exporting
Where an individual is starting out or seeking to develop their business, getting financial support is likely to be their number one objective. Business funding comes from a variety of sources, including regional programmes provided by the European Commission and public sector funding streamed through organisations such as the LEPs.
Together with venture capital and angel investment networks, there are thousands of funds available to support new and growing small businesses. Each year, hundreds of millions of pounds in grants, as well as finance such as loans and equity investment, are on offer to help SMEs undertake an array of business-related projects and activities. Key sources of funding currently in operation include the following:
Funding Options helps you find the right finance for your small business by asking a number of questions about your funding needs and circumstances and then matching you to finance providers based on their differing eligibility criteria. As you answer the questions, potential business lenders are ranked by likely suitability, as well as an indication of cost and speed.
The service is free to use and can even help SMEs find finance when they’ve been unsuccessful with the major banks.
This ‘catalyst’ fund is intended to support innovative UK companies and researchers in developing their early-stage low-carbon sustainable energy technologies into commercial successes. A particular focus is on addressing the clean energy access challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa and South/South East Asia.
Funding body: Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
Max. value: £25,000,000.
Start-up Loans is a personal loan-style funding initiative for entrepreneurs in the UK wishing to start up a new business. The initiative is also government-backed.
Funding body: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
Max. value: £25,000.
The Business Growth Fund is a £6 billion programme aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses in the UK to realise their growth ambitions.
Funding body: HSBC Bank Plc.
Recruitment Entrepreneur Funding
Recruitment Entrepreneur is a funding and mentoring initiative to help entrepreneurs in the UK to start or grow their own recruitment businesses. The initiative was developed by business expert and investor James Caan who has been in recruitment for over 30 years and invests in recruitment companies of all sizes across various geographies and sectors.
Funding body: Resourcing Capital Ventures Limited.
Max. value: £500,000.
Start-up loans is a government-backed scheme available to new business founders aged 18 and over in the UK. Transmit Start-Up Loans offers funding terms of 1-5 years to businesses operating for up to three years.
Funding body: HM Government
Max. value: £25,000.
Welsh Government Innovation Vouchers.
The Skills and Innovation Voucher (SIV) scheme provides businesses in Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, and Flintshire with the opportunity to collaborate with Bangor University via the Shared Prosperity Funding Scheme.
There are 3 types of vouchers available:
- Midi – Value up to £5,000 and Duration 5 – 8 days of support
- Maxi – Value up to £10,000 and Duration 10 – 15 days of support
- Talent – Value up to £5,000 and Duration 12 weeks
Funding body: Welsh Government
Max. value: £25,000.
Further reading on grant funding
- A guide to small business funding: Loans, eligibility and applications – Applying for business funding can be a complex task, so we want to help make things as simple as possible with this easy-to-follow guide.
- Receiving a business grant for research and development – Harry Norman discusses how his business received grants to further research and development into new technologies.
- A complete guide to small business finance – Cash flow is one of the biggest headaches for small business owners. Bank loan applications can be cumbersome. Yet there is a nimbler generation of lenders who can get money into your bank account fast.
