About Small Business Grants
What is a Small business grant?
Small business grants are here to help you grow your business. The grant can be a sum of money ranging from hundreds, to tens of thousands of pounds. It is not to be used for ‘business as usual’ type expenditure. A small business grant will need to be directly related to a specific business growth project.
You may not have thought of your business expansion plans as a project, however, to get business growth started, there is usually a series of items & services that need to be purchased in order to kick start the project/your expansion. Small business grants can be used to part pay your project costs.
When your project is ready to start or is underway, consider applying for a business government grant.
Business growth is exactly what small business grants are designed to help with.
Where can i find small business grants?
123 Grants is a good place to start when looking for small business grants. We’ve been supporting startups & small businesses for years and have collated all government business grant sources & resources.
In addition grant holders make us aware of the latest grants and any important updates. We can then assess business suitability, aiming to match the right applicants [businesses] with the right grants.
The business grant landscape is complex and not joined up. So before you jump in with your grant application, make sure you know what other grants are available as there is a limit to the number of grants and sums available per business within a set timeframe. We can advise you.
Recently, we helped a regional brewery apply and successfully receive a £100,000 grant. Before our intervention [when left on their own] they had assumed that they were only eligible for a £10,000 grant. Missing out on the other £90,000!
We can help guide you when we know your circumstances and plans. Our service is objective & confidential.
who can apply for small business grant?
Small business grants are available for small, medium enterprise businesses [SME 1-249 employees]. Some are sector specific & some will require new job creation. If you are creating part time or full time jobs please consider applying for a business grant right now as this may help your chances of success.
Larger businesses may also be eligible for a government grant too.
Grants for nonprofits & charities come from different sources. 123 Grants work with for-profit businesses only.
What can i spend the grant money on?
The small business grant must be related to business improvements and growth.
Grant money can be often be used for:
- marketing projects
- intellectual property
- expansion expenses
- internal refurb
- external refurb [sometimes]
- moving costs
- capital equipment [not leased]
- trade show costs
- improving processes
- efficiency projects
Once you know which grant you are applying for we can be more specific. It’s worth noting that you will never be able to claim retrospectively for grant expenditure so apply early.
Are business government grants free?
The grant will be free and you wont have to repay it, subject to meeting the criteria.
Most grants are match funded, which means you will have to put some of your own money towards the grant funded project. The percentage varies dependent on the grant criteria. Typically you can claim 30-60% of your projects costs by utilising a business grant.
Sure, you will have to complete some paperwork and provide details and quotes, but at the end of it you stand to receive thousands towards your business project costs. In the long term it can mean the difference between business growth or business decline. So don’t be afraid to step up and find out about the grants.
how long does it take to get a grant?
Some grant providers are faster than others. Typically grant decisions range from a week to a couple of months. In most cases your application has to be put in front of a panel who will assess the feasibility of your application and business growth plan.
It’s important to find out what grants are available sooner rather than later as they have finite open and close dates and frequently work on a first come first served basis.
What do i need to do next?
There’s no gain by waiting around. In some cases, providing that the grant funds are sufficient – you may even be able to have 2 grants from the same grant provider. Even more reason to register for Grant Alerts now.
See a small selection of the current UK small business grants here