Grants, funding, and financial support

Investment Hub NEL

If you are experiencing or planning for growth in your business in NEL, then the Investment Hub can help you. The Hub can direct you to suitable sources of finance, funding and business support services, as well as identify other local businesses where they think mutual benefits exist. For enquiries, please email [email protected]

Grants

Key benefits for registered SMEs are:

Fully funded Energy Audit identifying costs and savings for energy savings upgrades;
Advice on energy management techniques;
Research into low carbon and environmentally sustainable measures or working practices and support to adopt these in your business;
Decarbonisation plans;

Find out more about Smarter Energy NEL or contact the team via [email protected] or, by telephone, on 01472 252780.

A brand new Activation and Community Engagement (ACE) Fund has been launched as one of the six Grimsby town centre projects which form Grimsby’s Towns Fund.

The ACE Fund, which is ring-fenced to Grimsby Town Centre, will offer grants of £500-£25,000 to business ventures and community-based organisations in Grimsby to bring forward activities that will add local interest to the larger regeneration projects already underway.

Developed through consultation with local people and organisations about what would make a difference to the town centre, there is a grant allocation of £850k to deliver the Activation Fund from the £20.9m Towns Fund awarded to Grimsby, will be phased across the next three years to support the establishment of alternative activities in Grimsby town centre.

The fund will cover projects that fit with at least one of the following six town centre priorities identified in the Masterplan:

Introduce more diverse uses to the town centre;
Reconnect the town centre and the community with the waterfront;
Promote and support community ownership and participation;
Identify development opportunities within the town centre, including low-carbon initiatives;
Prioritise health and wellbeing activity in the town centre;
Enhance employment, skills and entrepreneurial opportunities.

For full details and eligibility criteria download the Activation Fund application form and guidance (Word, 701KB) .

Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency. We support business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. We help businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate.

Find out more at Innovate UK – Innovation & Development Funding

The UK is set to be the global leader in the creation, adoption & exportation of advanced digital technologies. Now is the time for manufacturing to evolve and with emerging technologies the possibilities are endless.

This not-so-distant future will boost our economy and create new jobs. Want to be part of it?

We can help you to leverage the power of these tools. The manufacturers of tomorrow use technology to streamline their processes. They are faster, more responsive, and more efficient. Ultimately, they make better products for less. Made Smarter helps you secure this competitive edge.

Find out more about the Made Smarter programme.

Grants and funding available to organisations within the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

For more information, or to register and receive available grant or funding opportunities in your sector by visiting the Third Sector Grant Opportunities page.

Alongside the large regeneration schemes happening in Grimsby town centre, public consultations carried out by Grimsby Retailers in Partnership through the 2025 Group initiative considered what initiatives could improve the look and feel of Victoria Street and attract more businesses to commit to Grimsby town centre. These initiatives have seen a decrease in anti-social behaviour and enhancements such as floral displays, wall art, and improved lighting.

In conjunction with this, the High Street Revival Scheme is aimed at bringing back into use empty units in the Victoria Street area of Grimsby town centre.

A partnership approach, between North East Lincolnshire council, Grimsby Retailers in Partnership (GRIP) and the 2025 Group initiative, property agents/owners, e-factor, and Sector Support NEL.

The scheme offers the following.

An opportunity to apply for Capital funding through the Activation and Community Engagement fund to assist with bringing the property back into use.
Where property owners benefit from building enhancements which make the property more attractive for occupiers, a time limited reduced or escalator rental period could be offered.
New occupants benefit from the above, plus free dedicated business support package to assist them to be a sustainable business.

Property agents match potential premises based on the needs of the tenants, saving time and energy researching.

For more information, or to submit an Expression of Interest, download: High Street Revival Scheme (Word, 58KB)

Business Lincolnshire is set up to help support Greater Lincolnshire based businesses, including within North East Lincolnshire, to start and grow. Business Lincolnshire hosts a Growth Hub – a single place to go to for business experts and mentors, support and guidance, grants and finance. The Business Lincolnshire team are passionate about helping your business to reach its full potential.

Find out more about how Business Lincolnshire may be able to support you at Business Lincolnshire.

Find available local funding on the Business Lincolnshire Find a Grant Service page.

The Heritage Revival Fund has been created to help communities across England rescue and repurpose neglected historic buildings. This programme will focus on regenerating historic buildings in town centre locations.

It will do this by supporting community organisations to take ownership of, adapt and reuse the local heritage assets that matter to them, transforming them into thriving spaces that meet their needs.

This grants programme has been made possible with funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Historic England, and forms part of the government’s wider £270 million investment in arts and culture.

Funding

The Start Up Loans Company was established in September 2012, with a mission to help new and early-stage UK businesses access affordable finance and mentoring support.

They are part of the British Business Bank and deliver the Government’s Start Up Loans programme, providing finance and support for businesses who struggle to access other forms of finance.

They work with a national network of business support partners who are based across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As well as helping loan applicants prepare their business plans and cash flow forecasts, their business support partners are responsible for assessing final applications and providing ongoing mentoring support to those people whose applications are successful.

Creative England has established a new partnership with the British Business Bank, to unlock new and important investment opportunities for all subsectors of the UK’s creative industries.

The new government-backed Start Up Loans for the creative industries will offer borrowing of up to £25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum, repayable over 1-5 years. As well as providing access to early financing, the loans will also include 12 months of post-investment mentoring support for recipients.

Applicants are welcome from any subsector of the UK’s creative industry; from young practitioners or experienced freelancers, to creative Start Ups less than two years old.

Start Up Loans – small businesses can borrow up to £25,000

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II will deliver £400 million of new funding to small and medium-sized businesses across the Midlands. The fund aims to build on the success of the first Midlands Engine Investment Fund and will drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating opportunities for new and growing businesses in the Midlands. The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II offers a range of commercial finance options with debt finance from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million. The fund covers the whole of Midlands, including the West Midlands, East Midlands and South East Midlands. To find out more visit: Midlands Engine Investment Fund II

The Angel CoFund makes equity investments of between £100,000 and £1 million in smaller businesses in the UK.

What grant amounts are available?

Equity investments of between £100,000 and £1 million in smaller businesses in the UK.

What is the loan available for?

The Angel CoFund makes equity investments of between £100,000 and £1 million in smaller businesses in the UK. It invests alongside strong syndicates of business angels to support businesses with strong growth potential.

Through these equity investments the Angel CoFund also acts as a catalyst to better practice and increased long-term capital in the UK angel market, and as a stepping stone to wider and later-stage venture capital (supported by our Enterprise Capital Funds and VC Catalyst Fund programmes).

Investment is subject to an upper limit of 49% of an investment round and 30% of the equity in a business, although investments are usually less than this.

Any eligibility criteria?

If you are a business seeking investment, you should first secure the interest of a business angel syndicate or network, as you can’t approach this fund directly.

How to apply?

Click HERE to apply and here for more information.

Contact information:

[email protected]

Suite 15, Sheffield Technology Parks Cooper Buildings, Arundel Street, Sheffield, S1 2NS

www.angelcofund.co.uk

On April 13 2025, the Chancellor announced the Growth Guarantee Scheme will provide approximately £500m of additional lending capacity to help more smaller businesses across the UK. The extra funding is aimed at smaller businesses that may need support with cashflow issues due to changes in global tariff rates.

Businesses can use the finance for any legitimate business purpose, including managing cashflow or working capital requirements due to disruption caused by changes to global tariffs. However, businesses must be able to afford to take out additional debt finance for these purposes.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) is the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme.

It is designed to support access to finance for UK smaller businesses as they look to invest and grow. The Growth Guarantee Scheme launched with accredited lenders on 1 July 2024, with a wide range of products supported by different lenders, including term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme can generally support facility sizes of up to £2m and provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee. To find out more visit: Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS)