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Business grants

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

Find available grants

You can search for available grants using the following websites:

Enterprise development grant

We are proud to support local enterprises through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund from UK Government. This new scheme is available from 1 August 2023 for established small and medium sized enterprises (SME) located in the district of Ashfield, or from outside the district who are now looking to move into the area. 

Applicants must also have a viable growth plan which will lead to new jobs being created and be located in eligible areas of the district.

This scheme can provide a grant of up to £6000 or 75% of your eligible project costs to pay towards:

  • Costs relating to research and development work e.g., product development, including production of prototypes and research of new marketing opportunities
  • Advertising, and other marketing costs, including web design, promotional materials and business stationery etc.
  • Costs associated with staff training to improve skill levels
  • Internal building refurbishments. (Shop fittings are not eligible)
  • Internal and external refurbishments for disability access e.g., toilets, doors, ramps to access building
  • Shop fronts that have no external roller shutters involved and the design must be agreed with planning team
  • Costs to support energy efficiency improvements e.g., solar panels. (Not eligible to any applicant that has previously been awarded a decarbonisation grant from the Ashfield Accelerator Project)
  • Costs associated with specialist advice to support the business e.g., HR, Legal, Financial, I.T etc.

If you are interested, then please read the guidance document in the related documents section of this page, and check to see if you are eligible. If you are eligible then please contact our business support team to arrange an online appointment, to discuss your business growth project in more detail.

Hucknall High Street Grant

Now been extended to Portland Road and Annesley Road

As part of the allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to Ashfield, the Council has created a Shop Front improvement scheme for eligible businesses and landlords with premises on Hucknall High Street (between the Bus Interchange and the Byron Cinema), Portland Road, and Annesley Road, to improve their property frontage, including doorway, display window, frame and signs.

Please note: that all premises must have a ground floor and street facing frontage. and they can be occupied or unoccupied.

This grant can pay towards 80% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum grant payment of £9600, excluding VAT.

If you meet the initial eligibility criteria as shown above and are interested, then please contact the Forward Planning team to discuss your proposals in more detail.

High Pavement House rent relief grant

This grant scheme is part of the allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to Ashfield, and is available to Ashfield based start-up or established, small and medium sized enterprises (SME) who are looking to expand their business with larger offices, and SMEs 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 off-set 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.

Decarbonisation Grant

The is being delivered by East Midlands Chamber and is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It forms part of our new Accelerator Programme, and offers support to local businesses to improve micro and small businesses employing between 2 and 49 employees. They can now apply for a match funded grant of up to £3000 towards Decarbonisation projects to help make their company greener. This grant is divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 will be an energy audit of the business, with phase 2 contributing to the installation of energy efficiency measures, as identified in the audit, which will help towards reducing the businesses carbon footprint.

This is available if you are a tenant with landlords’ permission.

Made Smarter East Midlands

Provide support for manufacturing businesses on how to switch to advanced and automated technologies, develop manufacturing leadership skills and access the £15,000 capital grant funding and access industrial digital technology expertise to help with implementation.

Invest to grow

The University of Derby 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 given.

Innovate UK Edge

Attracting funding to support innovation is a key priority for fast growing, innovative businesses that ultimately want to scale up. Innovate UK edge can support you to develop your finance and funding strategy and review your applications as a critical friend. They are 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 you 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 to find tech investors.

Page last updated: 22 November 2023

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