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Business grants remain a crucial source of government funding for many UK businesses. It’s often essential in getting a new capital development off the ground, or for exploring new and innovative models to solve some of society’s toughest social problems.
Innovation funds are grant funding programmes that offer financial backing to organisations and groups that are looking to research and develop a process, product or service, test innovative ideas and/or collaborate with other organisations. Is your business eligible?
View all available grants that may be right for you, saving you hours of research time.
We then send you directly from our grant finder through to the application page for the relevant grant provider.
Currently we have over 500 grants on the platform and we continue to update the tool as new grants come to the market. We recommend reviewing your grant matches at least quarterly to ensure you are up to date with the options available to you.
Timing. Ensure you are applying at an appropriate stage and have a clear opportunity to take advantage of. New funds open all around the year, so make sure to check Swoop’s grant finder on a regular basis for new grants you may be eligible for.
Define the opportunity and make sure you are eligible and fit the scope for the specific grant. It is easy to spend time applying for grants which are not suitable for your business.
Have a defined project and outline and highlight the impact it’ll have to align with the scope. Make your application worthy of receiving funding by ensuring you have done all the necessary preparation.
Outline the costs involved in the project and ensure you justify why they are needed and how much is needed to cover these costs.
Share your objectives clearly. Make sure you are clear what success looks like as a result of taking on a small business grant. How will you know when you’ve got there? What economic and social impact will your project have?
Outline a timeline and projections of progress expected to be achieved as these will be monitored closely if you are successful and mentioned within the scope.
A word from Andrea
"There’s a wide range of grants available across several sectors including manufacturing, tech, transport, energy, information and communication technologies, security, climate, aerospace, food, health, environment, and many more. Finding the one that best fits your business needs is key.
If you successfully obtain a grant, you may also want to consider grant advance funding, which is a type of loan that allows you to receive the grant value sooner, and simply pay off the balance of your loan when you receive the grant funding."
Page written by Rachel Wait. Last reviewed on November 18, 2024. Next review due April 6, 2025.
A business grant is a payment awarded by the government or other organisations to help businesses achieve specific goals. Your business could use the funds to help it grow, invest in staff training, or cover research and development costs.
Depending on the grant you apply for, you might receive your money as a one-off lump sum, be reimbursed after spending your own funds, or you might be asked to match the value of the grant before you receive the payment.
There’s a wide range of business grants available throughout the UK and across different business sectors. However, you typically need to meet specific eligibility criteria to qualify. This is usually based on the size and location of your business, as well as the sector you’re in.
Yes, business grants are essentially free money as, unlike a business loan, you don’t need to repay the funds. There’s no requirement to give away a share of your business either. Having said that, it’s crucial to check the small print carefully as some grant providers might set certain conditions for how your business spends the money.
Exact grant funding will depend on the type of grant your business qualifies for. Most grants are a few thousand pounds, but it’s possible to get up to hundreds of thousands of pounds in some cases. If you’re awarded a smaller amount, you may need to supplement this with another form of finance.
Yes, grants are generally taxable income which means they must be reported on your personal or business tax return, depending on the type of business you run.
There are hundreds of business grants available in the UK, with many aimed at specific industries, community groups or types of business. Take a look at providers such as the National Lottery and Power to Change, as well as Innovate UK:
Innovation grants: these are provided by a variety of funding bodied such as Innovate UK to support innovative ideas and business growth, including those from the UK’s world-class research base.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund: provides grants to sustain and transform the UK’s heritage. This can include investment in museums, parks, historic places and cultural traditions.
R&D tax credits: these are cash payments from the government to encourage companies to carry out research and development projects that relate to science or technology.
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs): there are 38 LEPs across England. These are voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses that provide business funding, support and guidance in their local areas.
New Enterprise Allowance: provides funding and support to those looking to start or develop a business. You need to be aged 18 or over and either you or your partner must receive Universal Credit, Job Seeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, or you must get Income Support and be a lone parent, sick or disabled.
The Prince’s Trust: supports young people aged 18 to 30 who want to start and run their own business. As well as providing funding and resources, the Trust also provides training and mentoring.
You can also view the available grants that you might qualify for when you register with Swoop.
If you’re a sole trader, it is worth looking for grants with your local authority. Contact your local authority directly or search on their website to find available grants for small businesses.
Previously, it was possible to find local grants via Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), but their functions were transferred back to local authorities in April 2024.
There are several grants available to help your business cover the cost of installing electric vehicle charge points and electric cars. These include the government’s electric vehicle infrastructure grant for staff and fleets for SMEs, as well as the Workplace Charging Scheme grant which is a voucher-based scheme for businesses for electric car charger installation.
If you’re aged between 18 and 30, the King’s Trust Enterprise Programme (previously the Prince’s Trust) is one of the most well-known small business grants. It provides funding and resources, as well as training and mentoring for those who want to start their own business. This includes the opportunity to apply for a Test My Business Idea grant of up to £500 to test your business idea in a real-world setting.
The Royal British Legion offers employment grants for ex-service personnel to help provide funding for training and skills development, while the Barriers To Start Up Grant is a £1 million fund to help unemployed veterans start their own business.
Additionally, the Veteran Founders programme, run by Barclays’ Eagle Labs, is a specially designed programme set up for veterans who want to start and grow a business.
Yes, absolutely. There are plenty of startup grants to choose from, depending on the type of business you want to run.
For example, the King’s Trust offers a startup grant of up to £5,000, and the Social Entrepreneurs Awards offers a grant of up to £8,000 if you’re just starting out.
There’s a range of funding and grant options available for small businesses, depending on where you live in the UK.
Small business grants in England. As mentioned, you can look on your local authority’s website to see whether there are any grants you qualify for. You can also carry out a grants search on the gov.uk website.
Small business grants in Scotland. Depending on where you live in Scotland, you may be able to apply for a business grant from Scottish Enterprise, or you could be eligible for a grant from the Highlands and Islands Enterprise or local councils. Look at the Scottish Government’s funding advice page for more information.
Small business grants in Wales. The finance locator on the Business Wales website can help you look for grants your business may be able to apply for and it also provides information on the application process. You may be able to get funding from the Welsh government, the UK government, local authorities and charitable organisations.
Small business grants in Northern Ireland. If your business is based in Northern Ireland, nibusinessinfo.co.uk provides a number of resources to help you understand your grant options. This includes government support, as well as innovation, and research and development grants such as Invest NI Innovation Vouchers, which provide access to a public sector knowledge provider e.g. University, College or Institute of Technology to work with you on an innovation project.
Swoop’s grant calendar. Overwhelmed by the UK business grants landscape? Try Swoop’s grants calendar and filter for grants by date, industry, country, or county.
Once you’ve found a business grant you feel suits your business and you’ve checked you meet the eligibility criteria, the next step is to write a business grant proposal. This is key to securing the funds you need. There are likely to be many applicants for the grant, so you need your proposal to stand out.
To write your grant proposal, follow the steps below:
Writing a successful grant application is no easy task and it’s well worth your while engaging the services of a professional grant writer. Speak to our grant experts who can help maximise your chances of receiving a grant.
A critical part of your grant application is being able to explain the problem you’re trying to solve and how the funding will help you achieve this. Funders want to see that their money is being used wisely and exactly how you will allocate that money.
It’s also crucial that you understand why the grant is being awarded and what it aims to achieve, so that you can refer to these objectives when writing your application.
As part of your application, you should have a clear and realistic budget, as well as a solid business plan that includes sales projections, cash flow and profit and loss forecasts. Your business plan should be tailored for the grant you’re applying for and, if you are already trading, you’ll need to provide bank statements as evidence of your finances.
Always prepare your application as early as you can to ensure you don’t miss the deadline. And make sure you write in plain English and avoid jargon. It’s worth getting a second opinion from a mentor, senior colleague or expert and proofread and spell check your application before submitting it.
Swoop has a list of accessible grants you can apply for, whether you’re an established business or a startup. You can view the many options available to you by registering with Swoop.
There’s a wide range of grants available across several sectors including grants for manufacturing, tech businesses, transport, energy, information and communication technologies, security, climate, aerospace, food, health, environment, and more.
Before applying, double check the eligibility criteria to ensure you qualify.
If you can’t find a suitable grant to apply for, there are alternatives to consider, including business loans and equity finance.
Written by
Rachel has been writing about finance and consumer affairs for over a decade, helping people to get to grips with their finances and cut through the jargon. She's written for a range of websites and national newspapers including MoneySuperMarket, Money to the Masses, Forbes UK, and Mail on Sunday. Rachel has covered almost every financial topic, from car insurance and credit cards, to business bank accounts and mortgages.
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No, you won’t need to repay the amount awarded through a business grant, nor will you need to pay interest on it.
A Smart Grant is Innovative UK’s ‘Open grant funding’ programme which seeks ‘the best game-changing and commercially viable innovative or disruptive ideas’ from almost any industry. All proposals must be business focused. The competition usually runs three to four times a year and project costs range from £25,000 to £2 million.
In the March 2021 Budget, a £5 billion Restart Grant fund was unveiled to offer up to £6,000 per premises for non-essential retail businesses and up to £18,000 per premises for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses.
The scheme aims to give businesses the financial certainty required to plan ahead and relaunch trading in coming months. Support is likely to be provided until 21 June 2021, when it’s hoped that all coronavirus restrictions will be lifted.
Match funding for grants means that in order to receive a particular business grant, you will need to put up some of your own funds. Grant organisations might request match funding to give them the reassurance that you are serious about the project being invested in and that you are able to raise adequate funds to support it.
Grant advance funding refers to a financial arrangement where companies that participate in government grant programs can access a portion of their future grant capital in advance. In other words, it’s a loan to get cracking on your grant-funded project.
It allows businesses to receive a portion of the grant funds before completing the milestones or project requirements outlined in the grant agreement. It helps companies maintain cash flow, meet financial obligations, and progress with their projects without waiting for the complete disbursement of the grant funds.
Yes – because you won’t be expected to repay grant money (as you would with a loan), bad credit shouldn’t be a problem.
However, it’s important to thoroughly check the general terms and criteria – such as business size, grant purpose, location and industry type – before you apply to make sure you qualify.
Innovation funds are grant funding programmes that offer financial backing to organisations and groups that are looking to research and develop a process, product or service, test innovative ideas and/or collaborate with other organisations. If your business has a focus on innovation or you are trying to bring a new product to the market, innovation grants could be a good option to explore.
Yes, you can claim both. In fact, if you receive a grant, it’s likely that at least some of your development work will qualify for R&D tax credits. However, being awarded a grant will have an impact on your R&D tax credit claim, so it’s important to plan carefully and seek expert advice before proceeding.
Cash grants are usually taxable because they are classed as a form of income. This means that once you have subtracted the relevant allowances and expenses, the sum left over will be liable to tax.
The government will generally only allocate funding to businesses that meet specific requirements, such as; location, business size, and trading duration.
For more information on how grant funding is allocated, click here.
Given the higher likelihood of male-owned businesses receiving funding, organisations are increasingly focusing on funding women in business to provide them with more opportunities for success.
Register with Swoop to explore your options.
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