Many businesses benefitted from grants during the pandemic, but how many realise there are other grants they may be able to access at any time to help their business grow and thrive?
In fact, there are a large number of grants available across the UK to help businesses with everything from reducing carbon emissions right the way through to developing space-based services.
Finding a grant
Finding a grant for your business could be easier than you think, especially as many of them are listed on the gov.uk website. You can go to this site and choose ‘grants’ as the option, and it will provide you with a list of funds that could be available for your business.
Some will be area specific and only available to businesses in certain places, such as Derbyshire, the South West or Leeds, for instance. But there are also grants open for businesses that will increase their workforce and create new jobs in the local area.
What does it mean if I get a grant?
The difference between a grant and a loan or an investor taking an equity stake is that the grant will not need to be paid back. A loan would be paid back with interest, while an equity stake would mean an investor owning part of your business in return for their investment and expecting a return on their money along with the original capital back at a future date.
So, if you are able to benefit from a grant, it is well worth considering it as the money will be yours to use to improve your business and also to expand your reach and potentially workforce.
What’s the catch?
However, depending on the reason for the grant being made, there may be conditions attached to how you are able to use that money. For example, if the grant is specifically to help you buy some plant or machinery, you would not be able to use it to fund wages. You may think no-one will check, and you may be right. But it is not worth taking the chance.
You should always check the fine print of any grant your business is applying for to make sure you can fulfil any conditions or rules that apply, otherwise you could find yourself failing to secure the grant or, which could be worse, possibly having to return the money after you have spent it.
Check locally and elsewhere too
While there are a number of national grant schemes, it is also worth checking locally with your council, any business support organisations – chambers of commerce of business hubs – and associations that are relevant to your business.
It may be that you run a company dealing with the arts or is looking to increase the benefits to the local economy. All these aspects could open up a range of funding that you had not previously considered.