Top 103 Startup Grants UK (Free List)
Apply for your startup grant funding today.
6 min read
Startup grants are a great way to finance the launch of your business without giving away equity or taking on debt.hey not only provide financial support but also push you to refine your business idea, as most grant applications require a detailed and well-thought-out presentation.
Grants can become your whole source of funding or complement other investment sources, such as angel investors or venture capital.
While we all agree that grants are valuable, there are so many and they can be quite difficult to find. To make things easier, we’ve created a list of active startup and small business grants to help you apply for funding.
In the list below, we’ve also added government backed programs and free business support to help you get your startup off the ground.
Top 103 most active startup grants in the UK
Startup grants* (name, website, country, coverage, sector)
| Startup Grant | Website | Country | Coverage | Type | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerated Growth Programme | Wales | National | Coaching / Mentoring Accelerator | ||
| Access to Work Funding | UK | National | Employement/Disabilities | ||
| Ad:venture | England | West Yorkshire | Grant | Trading less than 3 years. B2B/B2C | |
| Adur and Worthing small business grant | England | Adur and Worthing Borough, West Sussex | Grant | ||
| Apprenticeship Employer Grant | Scotland | National | Apprentiships | General | |
| Apprenticeship Grant | England | National | Apprentiship Grant | Ggeneral | |
| Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) | UK | National | Grant | Architecture | |
| Arts Council England Funding | England | UK | Grant | Arts | |
| Arun Valley Business grant | England | Arun District, West Sussex | Grant | Shopfront enhancement | |
| Barrow Cadbury Trust Grants Criminal Justice | UK | National | Grant | Social enterprise | |
| Barrow Cadbury Trust Grants Economic Justice | UK | National | Grant | Social enterprise | |
| Barrow Cadbury Trust Grants Migration | UK | National | Grant | Social enterprise | |
| Barrow Cadbury Trust Grants Social Investment | UK | National | Grant | Social enterprise | |
| Bg Effect Business Fund | Wales | Blaenau Gwent County | Grant | ||
| Big House CDI Grant icon | England | Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire | Grant | ||
| Universities for Nottingham Talent Grant | England | Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire | Grant | ||
| Boost Business Lancashire | England | Lancashire | Training, Grant | ||
| Brexit Readiness Vouchers | Northern Ireland | National | Support Voucher | ||
| British Council Grants | Britain | National | Grant | Research | |
| Broadland District Business Builder | England | Broadland District, Norfolk | Training, Grant | ||
| Bucks Business First Grants and Vouchers | England | Buckinghamshire | Grant | ||
| Built Environment Climate Change Innovations (BECCI) | England | Coventry and Wolverhampton University, Hartlepool Borough, Durham | Free Support | ||
| Capital grants for small businesses and enterprises | England | Scarborough, North Yorkshire | Grant | ||
| Support for Start Up Businesses | England | Worcestershire County, Hartlepool Borough, Durham | |||
| Support for Small & Medium size Businesses | England | Worcestershire County, Hartlepool Borough, Durham | |||
| Support for Large Businesses | England | Worcestershire County, Hartlepool Borough, Durham | |||
| Birmingham start a business | England | Solihull, Staffordshire, The Marches, Greater Birmingham, Stoke-On-Trent | Grants, Training | ||
| Birgmingham grow a business | England | Solihull, Staffordshire, The Marches, Greater Birmingham, Stoke-On-Trent | Grants, Training | ||
| Business Incentive Grant | England | Test Valley, Hampshire | |||
| Business Rates Relief | UK | National | Business rates relief | General | |
| Local Communities & Enterprise Fund | England | Coventry and Warwickshire | |||
| Caerphilly Business development grant | Wales | Caerphilly County | |||
| Free Business Support | England | Essex, England | Training | ||
| Business Launchpad Bursary | Wales | Carmarthenshire | Bursary | ||
| Chichester District Council Grant Programme | England | Chichester District, West Sussex | Grant | ||
| Chorley Apprenticeship Grant | England | Chorley, Lancashire | Grant | ||
| Civic Improvement Fund (ECIF) | England | Elmbridge | Grant | ||
| Community toilet grant scheme | Wales | Gwynedd County | |||
| Crack It Challenges | UK | National | 3R Animals in Research | ||
| Cumbria Business Startup Support Programme | England | Cumbria | Training | ||
| Business ‘restart’ grants | England | Amber Valley, Bolsover, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire or South Derbyshire, Derby City, Chesterfield | |||
| Newhaven Business Grants Programme | UK | East Sussex | Grant | ||
| Elmbridge green business boost | UK | Elmbridge Borough Council | Grant | ||
| Elmbridge start-up boost | UK | Elmbridge Borough Council | Grant | ||
| Elmbridge business boost grants | UK | Elmbridge Borough Council | Grant | ||
| Energy Efficiency Grants | England | Warwickshire | Grant | ||
| Energy Saving Trust Grant (Landlords) | Scotland | National | |||
| Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) | UK | National | General | ||
| Go Succeed | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland | Training | ||
| Farming Innovation Pathways (FIP) – feasibility studies | UK | National | Farming Innovation | ||
| Farming Innovation Pathways (FIP) – industrial research | UK | National | Farming Innovation | ||
| Financial Support to Businesses | Scotland | National | |||
| Gainsborough Feasibility Fund | England | West Lindsey District, Lincolnshire | |||
| Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme | UK | National | General | ||
| Grants4Growth | England | South Holland, Lincolnshire, England | Training | ||
| Fly High Start-Up & Enterprise grant | England | Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire | Grant | ||
| Business Lincolnshire AI Adoption Accelerator | England | Lincolnshire County | Training | ||
| Growth Deal | England | Isles of Scilly | |||
| Growth Deal Funding | England | Black Country | |||
| Growth Grants | England | Buckinghamshire | Training | ||
| Growth Lancashire | England | Ribble Valley Borough, Lancashire | |||
| Horizon 2020 | UK | National | General | ||
| Independent Retailer Grant | England | Andover and Romsey, Hampshire | |||
| Innovation Programme | England | Warwickshire | |||
| Innovation Programme for Greater Lincolnshire | England | Lincolnshire County | |||
| Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) | UK | National | Health | ||
| Internment Subsidies for Employers | England | Exeter | |||
| Invest and Grow | England | Lincolnshire | |||
| Invest to Grow | England | Derbyshire | |||
| Invest to Grow (internships) | England | Keele | |||
| Investment Fund | England | Warwickshire | |||
| Let’s Grow Programme | England | East and North Yorkshire | |||
| Decarbonisation Net Zero Programme | England | Warwickshire | |||
| Net Zero business support and funding advice | England | Black Country, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire | |||
| Malvern Hills Business Start-Up Grant | England | Malvern Hills District Council, Worcestershire County | Grant | ||
| New Anglia Small Grants Scheme | England | Norfolk and Suffolk | Training | ||
| New Enterprise Allowance | UK | National | New business | ||
| North East Business Support Fund | England | Northeast | |||
| Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund | England | Yorkshire, Humber and Tees Valley | |||
| Patent Box Relief | UK | National | Patent exploitation | ||
| Power to Change funding | England | National | |||
| Princes Trust Grants | England | South of England | General | ||
| Big Innovation Grant | Northern Ireland | National | |||
| ReAct for businesses | Wales | Flintshire County | |||
| Regional Selective Assistance | Scotland | National | Grant | ||
| Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) | UK | National | General | ||
| Skills Advancement Grant | Northern Ireland | National | Grant | ||
| Smart Concept Fund | England | Wolverhampton | Grant | ||
| Start-up funding | England | Wychavon District, Worcestershire | |||
| Startup Grant West Dunbartonshire | England | Barrow-in-Furness Borough, Cumbria | Grant | ||
| The Prince’s Countryside Fund | UK | National (rural) | General | ||
| Business Transition to Net Zero Grant | UK | Norfolk and Suffolk | Grant | ||
| Growth Through Innovation Fund | UK | New Anglia | Grant | ||
| Start and Grow York | UK | York | Training | ||
| StriveLive Inubator | UK | York | Training | ||
| Shop front improvement grant | UK | Leicester | Grant | ||
| Loughborough BID Business Support Programme | UK | Loughborough | Training | ||
| Social Awards | UK | National | Competition | ||
| Invest To Grow Funding | UK | East Midlands | Grant | ||
| Small Grant Scheme | UK | Leicestershire | Grant | ||
| Shop Front Improvement Scheme | UK | Oadby and Wigston Borough | Grant | ||
| EIC Accelerator | UK | National | Grant |
Startup Grants (Applications Closed)
Startup grants* (name, website, country, coverage, sector)
| Startup Grant | Website | Country | Coverage | Type | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agri-tech Cornwall | England | Isles of Scilly, Cornwall | Grant | ||
| Apc 18: developing the UK’s low carbon automotive capability | UK | National | Competition | Zero emission vehicles | |
| Ati Programme strategic batch | UK | National | Civil aerospace | ||
| Automotive Transformation Fund | UK | National | Competition | Automotive transformation | |
| Bg Kick Start Grant Scheme | Wales | Blaenau Gwent County | |||
| Boost4Health | England | North West | |||
| Business Energy Efficiency (BEE Anglia) | England | Norfolk and Suffolk | |||
| Capital grants for small businesses and enterprises | England | Hambleton District, Yorkshire | |||
| Business Start-Up Grant Scheme | England | Cheshire West and Chester | |||
| Business West High Impact Scale-up Coaching Grants | England | West of England | |||
| Coast to Capital Grant Funding (Leader) | England | West Sussex | |||
| Collaborate for Growth | England | Leicestershire | |||
| Commercialising Quantum Technologies: CRD & Tech | UK | National | Quantum Tech | ||
| Commercialising Quantum Technologies: germinator projects round 1 | UK | National | Quantum Tech | ||
| Conservation grant scheme | England | Howardian Hills, Yorkshire and the Humber | |||
| Crawley Business support grants | England | Crawley Borough, West Sussex | |||
| Creative England Games Industry | England | Leeds | |||
| Cumbria Infrastructure Fund | England | Cumbria | |||
| Digital Growth Programme Grant Scheme | England | Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire | |||
| Digital Skills for Growth (DSG) | England | Essex | |||
| Driving the Electric Revolution: Supply Chains for Net Zero | UK | National | Competition | Electric cars | |
| Energy for Business | England | Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire | |||
| Enterprise Support Programme | Wales | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||
| Fit For Nuclear | UK | National | Nuclear | ||
| Forestry Commission | UK | National | Forestry | ||
| Grants for growing and developing your business | England | Pendle Borough, Lancashire | |||
| Grants for New Businesses in Orkney | Scotland | Orkney Island | |||
| Green Port Hull | Wales | Hull | |||
| Growing Graduate Enterprise | England | Lincolnshire County | |||
| Growing the Humber | England | Humber | |||
| Ietf deployment of energy efficiency technologies, Spring 2021 | UK | National | Energy efficiency | ||
| Ietf energy efficiency and decarbonisation studies, Spring 2021 | UK | National | Decarbonisation | ||
| Infrastructure solutions for zero emission vehicles | UK | National | Zero emission vehicles | ||
| Iscf Digital Security by Design – business led demonstrators | UK | National | Digital security | ||
| Iscf Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging | UK | National | Sustainable plastic | ||
| Isle of Wight Rural SME Fund | England | Isle of Wight | |||
| Iso Grant Scheme | Wales | Gwynedd County | |||
| Knowledge transfer partnerships (KTP) | UK | National | Knowledge base | ||
| Lcr Future Energy | England | Liverpool | |||
| Natep helping SMEs innovate in aerospace – Spring 2021 | UK | National | Civil aerospace | ||
| Sbri : Improving Hip Fracture Outcomes Using Data | UK | National | Hip fracture data | ||
| Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) | UK | National | Social enterprise | ||
| The National Lottery Community Fund | Scotland | National | Social enterprise | ||
| Transitioning towards Zero Emission Vehicles : CR&D | UK | National | Zero emission vehicles | ||
| Transitioning towards Zero Emission Vehicles: feasibility studies | UK | National | Zero emission vehicles | ||
| Transport sector funding | England | East Midlands | |||
| Warwickshire County Council Growth Fund | England | North Warwickshire |
Other investor lists:
- UK Venture Capital (2024 Full Database)
- Pre-Seed VC Investors
- Top 383 UK Angel Investors
- Top 57 SEIS Funds In The UK
- Top 65 EIS Funds In The UK
- Top 58 London VC Firms
- 168 Angel Investors In London
- 100 Angel Investors Cambridge
- 51 Angel Investors Manchester
- 28 Angel Investors In Bristol
- 33 Angel Investors Edinburgh
- 19 Angel Investors In Liverpool
- 8 Angel Investors In Reading
- 8 Angel Investors In Guildford
- 7 Angel Investors In Oxford
- 6 Angel Investors Newcastle
- 5 Angel Investors In Brighton
- 4 Angel Investors In Bath
- 4 Angel Investors In Cardiff
- 4 Angel Investors In Glasgow
- 4 Angel Investors Harrogate
- 4 Angel Investors In Leeds
- 4 Angel In Northern Ireland
- 44 Angel Investors In Scotland
- 4 Angel Investors In Wales
- 127 Female Angel Investors
- Venture Capitalists In The UK
- Top 47 Business Angels UK
- Top 94 Private Investors UK
- 55 Pre-Seed Investors London
- Top Seed VCs In The UK
- Top UK Startup Accelerators
- Top 18 Angel Networks UK
- Top 38 Venture Capital Associates
- Top 26 Venture Capital Analysts
- Top 29 Venture Capital Principals
- Top 24 Venture Capital Directors
- Top 35 Venture Capital Partners
