Grants from £10k up to £25k

Grants are a form of funding given freely to financially support businesses who meet eligibility criteria set out by the funders (it is effectively free money and doesn’t need to be paid back). Most grants are funded by national and local government and also the European Union, until 2020, to grow the local economy and create jobs.

Loans from £1k to £200k

We also have other funding options to provide more ways for your business to access the finance it needs including loans.

If you need short-term finance such as working capital or longer-term funding to finance new equipment and business growth, we will be able to guide you through all funding options available to you and help you apply for funding that is right for you, including a mix of grants and loans if you're eligible.

East Sussex Invest 6 (ESI6) East Sussex Council's grants and loans programme

ESI6 fund is an East Sussex County Council and Regional Growth Fund (RGF) programme to support the local economy and create jobs. It is delivered by East Sussex County Council in partnership with Locate East Sussex. The fund offers grants and loans for capital investment to stimulate business growth and job creation in the county.

Grants from £10,000 to £25,000 – require minimum match funding of 60%.

Loans from £10,000 to £200,000 – require minimum match funding of 50% and have an arrangement fee of £500.

See fund guidelines

We'll introduce you to the Let’s Do Business Group's start-up loans team - the official delivery partner for the Government Start-Up Loans scheme in East Sussex.

A start-up loan is a government-backed scheme, which offers a repayable loan to individuals over the age of 18 who have a viable business idea but no access to finance.

Let’s Do Business Start-Up was set up to provide advice, mentoring and access to funding for new entrepreneurs and businesses in the start-up phase, that have been trading for less than 24 months. The scheme funds in every sector. As well as financial backing, all loan recipients are given access to a mentor, free training events and exclusive business offers.

If you decide to apply for a start-up loan, Locate East Sussex can help your journey and support you to develop a viable business plan.

Let’s Do Business Finance is accredited by the British Business Bank to lend to small businesses with the backing of Enterprise Finance Guarantee.

Since 2009, the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) has supported the provision of £2.7bn of finance to more than 26,000 smaller businesses in the UK. EFG facilitates lending to companies that are viable but unable to obtain finance due to having insufficient security to meet their first-choice lender’s normal security requirements.

Let’s Do Business Finance will use EFG guarantees on loans to fund the future growth or expansion of a business, from £3,000 to £50,000. Finance terms are from three months up to seven years.

Growth Loans from £1,000 to £50,000 are available for established businesses of 12 months or more that are looking but are unable to access conventional bank support.

LoCASE

East Sussex companies can get support to reduce environmental impact and increase profits through the Low Carbon Across the South East (LoCASE) programme. LoCASE is an EU funded project set up to help businesses tackle and adapt to climate change. To help achieve this goal, grants of up to £20,000 are available to SMEs and social enterprises in the South East to invest in projects that will reduce energy bills and cut a company's carbon footprint. 

South East Creatives

South East Creatives offers grants that cover up to 35% of individual project costs and can cover marketing costs, research and development, staff, studio rental, equipment and much more.  Typically, grants are between £1,000 and £3,000 but can be up to a maximum of £20,000 if the project has a very strong business case and will lead to job creation. Grants do not have to be paid back, South East Creatives offers equity-free investment. 

65% match-funding must be from private sources e.g. organisational profits, crowdfunding, trusts & foundations, a secured bank loan, personal contribution etc.

Grants awarded under the scheme can be used to fund both capital and revenue projects, including equipment, plant and machinery costs, salary costs towards a new role, supporting initial rent for new premises, funding the cost of purchasing patents, IT software and much more.

The Back Her Business initiative has been designed to help more female entrepreneurs launch their own business. The UK-wide campaign is part of NatWest’s pledge to inspire 400,000 female-led business by 2025.

The bank is providing a top-up fund of £1 million per annum and will be offering grants to qualifying businesses. Applicants are required to set up a crowdfunding project with a minimum target of £1,000. Successful applicants will receive match funding of up to 50% towards their target, up to a maximum of £5,000.

This programme is open to UK-based, female-led start-up businesses and those with new trading activity.

Applications may be submitted at any time.

InnovateUK

Provides support and funding to help businesses develop new products and services and bring them closer to market, this may be to bring people together to share ideas, tackle challenges and make new technological advances. Funded by the government, Innovate UK targets technologies and areas with the greatest scope to improve business, the economy and society.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) help companies to innovate and grow by linking them directly to an academic or research organisation and a graduate who is suited to the company's aims.

KTPs unlock new skills and the latest innovations to deliver specific and strategic innovation projects. The scheme can last between 12 and 36 months, depending on the project and the needs of the business.

Taking part in a KTP can help you to develop your business by providing access to the kind of academic expertise that you don’t have in-house. It’s not expensive either - you will need to contribute to the salary of the associate who will work with you plus the cost of the scheme supervisor – the rest is funded by a grant.

KTPs are a proven way to improve business performance by helping companies become more innovative and productive in order to drive their competitive performance.

KEEP+

Connecting SMEs to academic expertise and graduate talent, this European Regional Development Fund-subsidised programme can help boost your business through research and development support and grant funding. KEEP+ will help you launch new products and services, improve profitability, reduce costs and access to graduate talent.

For more information about innovation funding programmes contact us at innovation@locateeastsussex.org.uk