Business grants in Wales

In Wales, the Welsh Government gives grants and advice through Business Wales, and its own Development Bank of Wales lends and invests. Grant rounds open and close through the year, while the development bank’s loans of £1,000 to £10 million are available all year.

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Business Wales and the Development Bank of Wales

Public business funding in Wales runs through two bodies, and they do different jobs. Business Wales is the Welsh Government’s business support service. It gives advice, runs the Welsh Government’s grant schemes for businesses, such as the Smart Flexible Innovation Support programme for research, development and new equipment, and handles export support, trade missions and resource efficiency advice. Its helpline is 03000 6 03000, open from 10am to 4pm on weekdays.

The Development Bank of Wales is wholly owned by the Welsh Ministers. It lends to and invests in businesses based in Wales or moving there, and its money is repaid with interest or exchanged for shares. It is the main route to public money in Wales for a business that needs funding outside a grant round, and its loan can sit alongside a bank loan or a grant in a larger package.

The two connect. A business that wins a grant still has to fund its own share of the project, and the development bank or a commercial lender can provide it. A business borrowing from the development bank for an energy project can use Business Wales’s energy advice and audit grant to work out what to install. Swoop’s platform covers both sides as well, matching businesses with grants and with lenders, and our grant finder lists the UK government grants open to Welsh businesses.

Development Bank of Wales funding

Micro loans

£1,000 to £100,000, for businesses starting up or growing.

Loans and equity

£50,000 to £10 million for a start-up, and £100,000 to £10 million for a growing business.

Property development

Loans from £150,000 for commercially viable projects in Wales, with up to a 2% cut in loan fees for residential developers meeting green standards.

Green Business Loan Scheme

Discounted fixed rates on loans for energy efficiency and low carbon heat, with a term linked to the project’s payback and upfront repayment holidays.

The development bank sets its own terms and decides each application. For a comparison with commercial lenders, see business loans.

Grant schemes in Wales at November 2026

Welsh Government grants run in rounds. The latest Smart Flexible Innovation Support capital equipment round offered £50,000 to £250,000 for new equipment and technology linked to research and innovation, and closed on 25 September 2026, with decisions from the week of 26 October. To qualify, applicants had to show the grant would increase their research and development capability, with a business plan and evidence that the business is financially viable. Business Wales announces the next round on its funding pages and through its newsletter.

Innovate UK competitions are open to Welsh businesses on the same terms as anywhere else in the UK, set out on Innovate UK grants. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme for heat pumps on business premises covers Wales as well as England, and apprenticeships in Wales are funded by Medr, the commission for tertiary education and research. Councils run their own local schemes, some of which were funded by UK Shared Prosperity Fund money that covered activity up to 31 March 2026, so check what your council offers now before you plan around a scheme you saw last year.

An engineer operating a lathe in an engineering workshop

Energy advice and the audit grant

Business Wales pays for a visit from a resource efficiency adviser to look at the business’s energy, water and waste. For more complex sites it offers a grant of 50% of the cost of a detailed energy audit, up to £10,000 of grant on £20,000 of audit costs.

The audit gives you a list of measures with costs and savings, and that is what the Green Business Loan Scheme and a commercial lender both want to see. The development bank asks that the business has traded for at least two years and filed at least one set of accounts. Energy projects across the UK are compared on energy efficiency grants.

A loan has to be repaid

Development Bank of Wales funding is a loan or an investment

The development bank is publicly owned, and its loans are repaid with interest like any other. Equity means selling part of the company. Read how much equity to give away before agreeing to an investment, and what a personal guarantee means before signing one.

Questions people ask

Are there business grants in Wales?

Yes, from the Welsh Government through Business Wales, in rounds that open and close through the year, from UK-wide schemes such as Innovate UK, and from councils. The latest Smart Flexible Innovation Support capital equipment round offered £50,000 to £250,000 and closed on 25 September 2026. Call Business Wales on 03000 6 03000 for what is open.

Does the Development Bank of Wales give grants?

No. The Development Bank of Wales lends and invests: micro loans of £1,000 to £100,000, and loans and equity of up to £10 million. It is owned by the Welsh Ministers but its loans are repaid with interest. Grants come through Business Wales.

What is the Green Business Loan Scheme?

A Welsh Government and Development Bank of Wales scheme lending at discounted fixed rates for energy efficiency and low carbon heat, with a term linked to the project’s payback and upfront repayment holidays. Businesses must be based in Wales, have traded for at least two years and have filed at least one set of accounts.

Who can borrow from the Development Bank of Wales?

Businesses based in Wales or relocating there, from start-ups to established companies. The bank decides each application on the business’s plans and its ability to repay. For a wider search across lenders, a funding search through Swoop covers limited companies and LLPs, and sole traders and partnerships borrowing more than £25,000.

Can I use a grant and a Development Bank of Wales loan on the same project?

Yes. A grant pays only part of a project’s cost, and the rest can come from a loan, including one from the Development Bank of Wales. The grant offer letter shows the lender where the rest of the money is coming from. Check the grant’s rules on match funding, because some schemes limit how much of the total can come from public money.

What is Smart Flexible Innovation Support?

A Welsh Government programme, run through Business Wales, that funds research, development and innovation projects and the equipment for them. Applicants must show the grant will increase their research and development capability, with a business plan and evidence that the business is financially viable. Its latest capital equipment round offered £50,000 to £250,000 and closed on 25 September 2026.

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

Business loans

Term loans, secured and unsecured lending, government-backed schemes and how to compare offers.

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Energy efficiency grants for business

Heat pump and chargepoint grants, Scotland’s cashback loans and Wales’s green loans.

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Innovate UK grants

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

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Business grants in England

Central government, mayoral authorities, councils and growth hubs, and where to look.

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All business funding

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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.

Cover for a personal guarantee

If a lender asks you to guarantee the company’s borrowing, our advisers can advise on life cover for that debt.

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