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Business grants

If you are an established business looking to grow, there may be grants available to help you develop your projects.

Find available grants

You can search for available grants using the following websites:

Local grants available

High Pavement House - Rent relief grant

This grant scheme is part of the allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for Ashfield, and is available to Ashfield-based start-up or established, sole trader, micro, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who are looking to expand with larger offices, and for those who are new to the district.

  • we have 14 units available ranging from 11 square metres up to 42 square metres, so grants will vary from £250 to £960 depending on the unit taken
  • these grants will be applied directly by Ashfield Commercial Property team to offset the first 3 months rent. This does not include any service charges for building running costs.

If you are interested, please speak with our commercial property team to arrange a viewing. Then, if you wish to apply for a unit, please contact our business support team to arrange an online appointment, and if you are eligible then we will provide you with a link to access the grant application form. All applications must be submitted by the end of February 2025 and awards made by 31 March. Please know that if you cannot take on the unit before end of March 2025 then you should not apply for this grant.

SWEF Programme

If you are aged between 18 to 30 years old, from a low-income household or facing other challenges preventing you from developing your business, and you live and work Nottinghamshire then this programme may help you with grant funding up to £2000. You can be at pre-start, start up or established trading stages as long as you have not been trading for over 2 years.

This grant can be used to pay towards:

  • equipment that will help a business bring in a second revenue stream
  • equipment that will help a business increase production where there is proven demand
  • materials/stock for a new product line
  • prototypes
  • website/booking system build.
  • training
  • product development

The Smart Manufacturing Data Hub - East Midlands

If you are an SME and a manufacturer then you can access to state-of-the-art digital technologies designed to enhance productivity and drive growth, and get advice from industry leaders to help you navigate businesses digital transformations.

SMDH also have funding opportunities available to support innovation projects:

  • rapid demonstrators: Up to £50,000 for sensor and data integration projects.
  • national lighthouse projects: Up to £315,000 for comprehensive digital solutions.
  • virtual test beds: Up to £100,000 for utilising pre-existing test beds

For more details, please visit: SMDH funding opportunities

Invest to Grow

The University of Derby's Invest to Grow programme provides loans and grants to support private sector businesses across the East Midlands, to innovate, grow, and create new jobs or safeguard existing jobs. Funding can cover 30% of agreed capital project costs, therefore an award of £15,000 would be for a minimum project cost of £50,000. The maximum award is £250,000. This is a Regional Growth Fund (RGF) grant with no closing date.

Innovate UK Business Growth

Attracting funding to support innovation is a key priority for fast-growing, innovative businesses that ultimately want to scale up. Innovate UK Business Growth can support you to develop your finance and funding strategy and review your application as a critical friend. This is a key part of the UK innovation agency’s investment to drive economic growth, and work with industry sector specialists that can support all types of businesses across our region.

Tech Nation

If you’re a tech entrepreneur, be it aspiring, scaling, or late stage, then Tech Nation may be able to help you through their specialised programmes. They offer peer-to-peer learning, access to world class scale-up coaches, and connections that will help solve your technology business challenges. You will also gain added exposure for your brand. They are very selective when choosing who they will accept into each programme run, however it’s completely free and they can even help you find tech investors.

Page last updated: 4 December 2024