Find grants and funding for your business, project, or community

A grant is money awarded that does not need to be repaid, usually for a specific project or purpose. A loan must be repaid with or without interest. Some government funding schemes — such as Start Up Loans — are technically loans but come with favourable interest rates (currently 6% fixed) and free mentoring. Grant funding is often competitive and comes with conditions on how the money is spent and what outcomes are expected.

There is no single universal start-up grant in the UK, but funding is available through a patchwork of local and national schemes. The Government-backed Start Up Loans scheme provides loans not grants. Local Enterprise Partnerships, Growth Hubs, and local councils sometimes offer small grants for new businesses. Sector-specific grants exist for tech, creative industries, agriculture, and social enterprise. Use the Business Support Finder on GOV.UK to search by location and sector.

Yes, in most cases, but you must declare all other sources of public funding to each funder. Many grants have rules about the proportion of a project they will fund — for example, some schemes only cover 50% of eligible costs. Using multiple grant sources to cover different portions of costs is common and legitimate. Applying for the same costs from two grant funders without disclosure (double-funding) is fraud.

R&D Tax Credits allow businesses to recover a proportion of their spending on qualifying research and development activities from HMRC, either as a reduction in their Corporation Tax bill or — for loss-making SMEs under the SME scheme — as a cash payment. From April 2024, most businesses use the merged Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme. The benefit is 15–16.2p in every pound spent on qualifying R&D, depending on circumstances.

Growth Hubs are local business support networks, usually tied to Local Enterprise Partnerships and part-funded by the government. They can help you identify grant opportunities relevant to your sector and location, connect you with free or subsidised advisers, and signpost finance options. Most offer free initial consultations. Find your local Growth Hub through the GOV.UK Business Support Finder.