Grants in The UK

Current position

December 2012, by Bob Watson

The general situation for Grants throughout UK following the Coalition's Comprehensive Spending Review, is to close down the Regional Development Agencies, and replace them with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP).

In addition to LEPs, there will also be a Regional Growth Fund, targeted at providing a degree of seed capital for growing companies but at a level of around 1/3rd that deployed by the RDAs. The aim is to gain leverage using additional private money, and to ensure that Taxpayers money goes further.

But they won't be up for business before, mid-end next year. The RDAs are scheduled to continue until about April 2012.

The GBI Grants, Grants for Business Investment, which provided up to 35% of the cost of projects creating jobs and expansion for companies, are totally dead, and no more applications can be made for these.

R&D Grants will resume in April under the aegis of the Technology Strategy Board, rules and procedures to be revealed, early in the new year.

Micro Grants up to £30K still available in most areas as Commercialisation Grants, or Proof of Concept Grants.

Some of the RDA Finance arms are still doing Seed Equity investments, as well as their Accelerator fund, but mainly for projects above £2 million.

This is a time of serious change in the Political solutions being deployed to assist the UK PLC SMEs maintain investment, growth, improved productivity and additional jobs. The rules of the game are as yet unclear and if you have a project which requires funding then we recommend that you approach us as soon as possible so that we can offer best advice, based on our current information 0n how we can assist you to succeed with funding your enterprise.

See the Government's full document "Financing Britain's Growth".

Call us on 0845 686 8960 or complete our project summary form