Business grants in England

Business grants in England come from central government, Innovate UK, mayoral strategic authorities and councils. UK Shared Prosperity Fund money, which paid for council grant schemes, covered activity up to 31 March 2026, and local money now comes through new programmes.

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Finding a grant in England

  1. 1

    Search the national list

    Our grant finder lists every open grant on GOV.UK Find a Grant by closing date, including Innovate UK competitions and department schemes.

  2. 2

    Ask your growth hub

    Each area of England has a growth hub that knows the local schemes, the council’s plans and which national programmes fit your project.

  3. 3

    Check your mayoral authority and council

    Mayoral strategic authorities run the Local Growth Fund in their areas, and councils run their own schemes from their budgets and government funding.

  4. 4

    Fund your share

    Grants pay part of the cost. A funding search through Swoop covers the balance and also matches businesses with grants.

Who funds grants in England

Central government pays the largest grants, through departments and agencies, and lists them on GOV.UK Find a Grant. Innovate UK funds research and development across the UK, covered on Innovate UK grants. The energy schemes for business premises are on energy efficiency grants, and apprenticeship funding on grants for hiring and training.

Local grants in England have changed more than any other kind since 2025. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocated £902 million across the UK for 2025-26, for activity from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Councils used it for grants to small businesses, for energy and productivity projects and for business support services. That funding period has finished. From April 2026 the government funds local growth through other programmes, and they reach businesses in different ways depending on where you are.

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade also runs the Business Growth Service, launched in 2025 with business.gov.uk as its website, which points businesses to national support and to their growth hub. The department took that name in July 2026; until then it was the Department for Business and Trade.

Local funders since April 2026

Local Growth Fund
Over £900 million across four years from April 2026 for 11 mayoral strategic authorities: East Midlands, Greater Lincolnshire, Greater Manchester, Hull and East Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, and York and North Yorkshire. Business support is one of its three themes, with infrastructure and skills, and each authority decides how to spend it under its Local Growth Plan.
Mayoral strategic authorities
The English Devolution White Paper makes them the accountable body for growth hubs in their areas, alongside their own investment funds and business programmes.
Councils
Grants for shopfronts, start-ups, energy or digital projects from council budgets and whatever government funding reaches them. Schemes open and close through the year.
Pride in Place
Up to £20 million for each of 284 places over ten years, run by neighbourhood boards for community and high street regeneration. Each board publishes a plan, which shows whether any of the money goes to local businesses.
An engineer servicing a heating system

What local grants pay for

Local grants in England are smaller than national ones and tied to the area’s plan: creating jobs in the area, investing in equipment, cutting energy use, improving a shopfront, going digital or starting a business. They pay a share of the cost. Where a grant is given as Minimal Financial Assistance, you sign a declaration that the award keeps your business under the £315,000 limit over three financial years.

Applications are shorter than for Innovate UK, but the rules on timing are the same. Spending before the offer letter does not count, quotes are needed for the items you are buying, and you claim after you have paid. Check whether the scheme pays in stages or only when the whole project is finished, and arrange the cash or finance to cover the spending until it does.

  • The area your business trades from
  • Your Minimal Financial Assistance received over three years
  • Quotes for what the grant will buy

If your area has no scheme open

Funding the project without a grant

Local schemes open and close through the year, and a project that cannot wait can be funded with a loan or asset finance and still use any later grant that fits the rules. A funding search through Swoop covers limited companies and LLPs, and sole traders and partnerships borrowing more than £25,000; for smaller sums see Start Up Loans or your bank.

Questions people ask

What happened to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund?

Its 2025-26 allocation of £902 million, which the government called an extension year and a transition to a new funding framework, paid for activity up to 31 March 2026. From April 2026, in the 11 mayoral strategic authorities in England, local growth funding runs through the Local Growth Fund. Pride in Place programmes run in named places, and council grant schemes depend on what each council receives and decides to fund.

What is the Local Growth Fund?

A government fund of over £900 million over four years from April 2026, given to 11 mayoral strategic authorities in the Midlands and the North in place of separate competitive pots. Each authority spends it on infrastructure, business support and skills under its Local Growth Plan, so the grants it funds vary by area.

Where can I find business grants in my area?

Start with our grant finder for national schemes, then your growth hub, your mayoral strategic authority if you have one, and your council’s business pages. The growth hub can tell you which local schemes are open and which national programmes match your project.

Are there grants to start a business in England?

Some councils and mayoral authorities run start-up grants, and they open and close through the year. The national scheme for new businesses is Start Up Loans, which lends and offers mentoring. See funding a start-up and Start Up Loans.

What is a growth hub?

A local business support service in England, funded by the government and run with local partners. It points businesses to the grants, advice and programmes that fit them, national and local, and works with the government’s Business Growth Service on business.gov.uk. In mayoral areas the mayoral strategic authority is accountable for the growth hub, so it knows the Local Growth Fund plans too.

Do I need to declare other grants when I apply?

Usually, yes. When a grant is given as Minimal Financial Assistance, the council or authority must ask you to confirm in writing that the award will not take your business, with any linked companies, over £315,000 across the current and two previous financial years. Keep a record of every award and rates relief given this way.

Finance is subject to status and to the lender’s terms. A personal guarantee makes you liable for the company’s debt if it does not repay, and it can be enforced against your own assets, including your home. Nothing here is a personal recommendation.

Grants

How do business grants work?

Match funding, claims paid in arrears, subsidy control, clawback and tax.

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How do I write a grant application?

Scoring, the project plan, budgets, match funding, additionality and a checklist.

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Innovate UK grants

Competitions open now, funding rates, assessor scoring and innovation loans.

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Start-up business funding

Your own money, Start Up Loans, angels, grants and asset finance for a business in its first years.

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All business funding

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Start a funding search

Funding searches run on Swoop’s platform. Swoop Finance Limited is a credit broker and not a lender, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 936513). Buzz Accounting Ltd introduces businesses to Swoop and may receive a fee from Swoop when funding is arranged. Business funding is separate from the financial advice Equity & General Financial Services Limited gives through this website. Finance is subject to status, and a lender may ask a director for a personal guarantee.

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