Funding options for your business

Business funding and grants

Find funding options for your business.

UK-wide
Guide summary

Explore funding options for your business, including grants, loans, and tax incentives. Check eligibility criteria and match funding requirements before applying. Use GOV.UK’s Find a Grant service to search 107 schemes.

  • Start Up Loans: £500-£25,000 at 6% fixed rate (7.5% from April 2026)
  • Growth Guarantee Scheme: Loans up to £2 million for established businesses
  • Grants are competitive and require match funding (typically 30-70%)
  • Check Innovate UK for sector-specific funding competitions
  • R&D tax relief gives 20% credit on qualifying costs
  • Patent Box reduces corporation tax to 10% on patented profits
  • Maximum £315,000 subsidy allowed over 3 years (declare past grants)
  • UK Export Finance supports exporters with £14.5 billion funding
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UK-wide

Related guides in Tax & Finance

Start Up Loans

Government-backed loans from £500 to £25,000 with fixed 6% interest and free business mentoring.

Finding government grants

How to search for and apply for government grants, subsidies, and financial support for your business.

Finding the right funding is one of the most important decisions for any business. Options range from government grants and loans to tax incentives and private investment — each with different eligibility criteria, costs, and obligations.

The UK government lists over 107 grant schemes on its Find a Grant service. Beyond grants, the British Business Bank, Innovate UK, and UK Export Finance all provide targeted funding and support.

Start Up Loans

The government-backed Start Up Loans programme provides personal loans of £500 to £25,000 per individual (up to £100,000 per business if multiple partners apply) at a fixed 6% interest rate, repayable over 1–5 years.

Eligibility:

  • Aged 18 or over and UK resident
  • Trading for less than 36 months (3 years)
  • Must provide a business plan and cash flow forecast
  • A personal credit check is carried out — this is a personal loan, not a business loan

What is included: 15 hours of free 1:1 mentoring over 12 months, plus access to business plan templates and free support from a Business Support Partner.

No early repayment fees apply. The programme has supported over 118,000 businesses since 2012, with recipient businesses showing a 69% five-year survival rate compared to 43% for comparable businesses.

Growth Guarantee Scheme

The Growth Guarantee Scheme helps businesses access finance that might otherwise be unavailable. The government guarantees 70% of the loan to the lender, though the borrower remains liable for 100% of the debt.

  • Maximum facility: £2 million (inclusive of any outstanding previous guarantee loans)
  • Eligible turnover: up to £45 million annual turnover
  • Facility types: term loans (up to 6 years), asset-based lending, invoice financing, overdrafts (up to 3 years)

Apply through accredited lenders — the government does not lend directly.

Innovate UK funding

Innovate UK runs multiple funding competitions throughout the year for businesses developing innovative products, processes, or services. Grants typically range from £25,000 to £10 million+ depending on the competition.

Smart Grants (previously the main open competition at £100,000–£500,000 per project) have been paused since January 2025. Innovate UK is developing replacement programmes. Sector-specific and thematic competitions continue to run.

Check the Innovation Funding Service for current open competitions.

Tax-based incentives

Several tax reliefs effectively function as indirect government funding:

  • R&D tax relief (merged RDEC scheme): 20% expenditure credit on qualifying R&D costs, giving an effective net benefit of 15–16.2% after corporation tax. Companies can claim even on grant-funded R&D projects.
  • Patent Box: Reduces the effective corporation tax rate to 10% on profits from patented inventions (saving up to 15 percentage points against the 25% main rate).
  • Annual Investment Allowance: 100% first-year deduction on qualifying plant and machinery expenditure up to £1 million per year.
  • Full expensing: 100% first-year allowance on qualifying main-rate plant and machinery for companies (permanent from January 2026).
  • EIS and SEIS: Tax reliefs for investors in your company — EIS offers investors 30% income tax relief, SEIS offers 50%. From April 2026, EIS company limits double to £10 million per year and £24 million lifetime.

Subsidy control rules

Under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, there are limits on the total government subsidies a single business can receive. The Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) threshold is £315,000 over any rolling three financial year period. Below this threshold, subsidies are exempt from full subsidy control assessment.

Individual MFA awards over £100,000 must be published on the UK subsidy database. When applying for grants, you must declare all government grants, subsidies, or state-backed support received in the past 3 financial years.

Applying for a grant

Most government grants require match funding — typically 30–70% of total project costs from your own funds. You must usually have evidence of match funding available before applying.

Common requirements:

  • Business plan and financial projections
  • Evidence of how the funds will be used
  • Demonstration of eligibility (sector, location, business size, trading history)
  • Declaration of previous subsidies received
  • Quotes for items to be purchased

Timeline: Simple local grants may take 4–6 weeks for a decision. Innovate UK competitions typically take 3–6 months from application close to funding decision.

Important: Do not incur eligible costs before a grant offer is formally accepted. Spending before approval is typically not claimable.

UK Export Finance

UK Export Finance (UKEF) supports businesses that export goods or services. Products include the General Export Facility (flexible trade finance for SMEs), Bond Support Scheme (80% government guarantee for contract bonds), Export Working Capital Scheme, and Export Insurance Policy (insurance against buyer non-payment).

UKEF provided £14.5 billion of support to UK exporters in 2024–25.

Beware of grant scams

Action Fraud warns of fraudsters offering fake government grants via email and cold calls, requesting advance fees to release funding. Legitimate government grants never require upfront payment.

Only use official grant search portals. Government grants are not offered by unsolicited email, text, or phone call. Report suspected scams to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

  1. 1

    Search GOV.UK Find a Grant

    Use find-government-grants.service.gov.uk to search over 107 government grant schemes by sector and location.

  2. 2

    Use the business finance support finder

    GOV.UK business-finance-support tool returns grants, loans, and other support matched to your business.

  3. 3

    Check your local Growth Hub

    England's 38 Growth Hubs and devolved nation enterprise agencies offer local grants not listed on national portals.

  4. 4

    Review eligibility and match funding before applying

    Check sector, location, size requirements, and how much of your own money you need to contribute.

  5. 5

    Declare previous subsidies

    List all government grants and subsidies received in the past 3 financial years (MFA limit is £315,000 over rolling 3 years).

Funding and grants resources

Official portals and guidance for finding business funding.