This section is all about grants and funding – ways in which you can bring other forms of income and cash into your business. A grant is a sum of money given to an individual or business for a specific project or purpose.
A grant usually covers only part of the total costs involved. However, as long as you keep to any conditions attached to the grant, you will not have to repay it or give up shares in your business.
Grants to help with business development are available from a variety of sources, such as the government, European Union, Regional Development Agencies, Business Link, local authorities and some charitable organisations.
These grants may be linked to business activity or a specific industry sector. Some grants are linked to specific geographical areas, e.g. those in need of economic regeneration.
A good place to start is the Business Link grant search database.
Other forms of funding for your business include bank loans, overdrafts, lease finance, invoice discounting, business angels and venture capitalists. Again the Business Link website is a good source of information.
We aim to add more information to these pages as the site develops so please revisit to see the fresh content.