The ultimate UK funding list for startups, scale-ups and social entrepreneurs
Grants don’t provide huge amounts of capital or seed funding, but they can give founders a critical boost to develop their next product, enter a new market, or spread the word louder.
Finding one that you can actually use for your application can be time consuming. Therefore, here is a list of monsters that will help you. Note that some funds, including the local Growth Hub pot, reach the end of their financial cycle on March 31st. In some cases, this may mean all your cash is gone, but funds with funds still available may want to deploy them in time, so get your application in as soon as possible.
Regional and local government grants
…Most of these funding pools expire at the end of the fiscal year.
Net Zero Business Grant / UKSPF Social Fund: Incentives to support the UK’s transition to net zero by 2030 are available on a local basis across the country. Search in your area.
GLA lists grants and other opportunities across London here.
Residents or businesses based in tower hamlets Female founders have access to four funds with £400,000 in cash with separate pools available. Learn more here
for camden For businesses and local people, the Diversity Fund offers investments of up to £500,000 available to business owners from diverse backgrounds in the creative industries and those who support local employment. Learn more here.
Southwark Pioneer Fund is offering £5,000 grants and accelerator support to early-stage entrepreneurs and existing businesses looking to scale up. Learn more here.
Companies working on Old Oak and Park Royal (Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham) can access the OPDC Small Grants Scheme, which provides grants of between £1,000 and £7,000 for local causes and social initiatives. detail here.
Young entrepreneurs (18-30 years old) based in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets or City of London has access to the SWEF Enterprise Fund, which provides early-stage companies with a start-up grant of £500 and business grants of up to £2,000. For more information, Click here for East End Community Foundation.
Residents or businesses based in Wandsworth You can access the Women’s and Girls’ Revenue Grant Fund, making available funds available to start new programs for women and girls in the borough. For more information, Click here for Wandsworth Open4Business.
elbridge startup, surrey You can access the Business Boost grant, with up to £5,000 available for sustainability projects, digital upgrades and in-store improvements. detail here.
companies Baburg & Mid Suffolk You can access the Local Growth Fund, which provides capital grants of up to £15,000 for projects focused on net zero, diversification and tourism. learn more here.
Lancashire start-up companies nelson town deal£23,000 is available for investment in new machinery, carbon reduction initiatives and facilities. Click here for portal.
National programs (mainly focused on innovation and research and development)
..most of which target high-growth sectors such as technology and advanced manufacturing.
Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Program: Batch competitions for research and capital investment are held regularly. Up to £2.3 billion available by 2035.Apply here
Research and development tax credit: It’s not a subsidy, of course, but your claim includes the cost of AI, cloud computing, and data, so check your eligibility here.
DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Government funding for late-stage collaborative research and development in the automotive sector – deadline 18 March. Please apply here.
Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Call 12: Deadline for large-scale health research funding is April 21st. View details
Workplace charging system: Up to 75% of installation costs (capped at £350 per socket), ends on 31 March 2026. apply here
gigabit broadband voucher scheme: Up to £4,500 for rural business fiber installations. Request deadline is August 2026. Please check your postal code is the target.
Funding social enterprises
…These are support pools aimed primarily at young entrepreneurs with social impact.
of Kings Trust Enterprise Programwhich offers huge resources for business planning and a start-up grant of £5,000 for 16-30 year olds, as well as support with start-up loans. Click here to apply
UnLtd Funding Futures Prizes ranging from £8,000 to £18,000 will be awarded to young social entrepreneurs who tackle economic exclusion. Apply via UnLtd
Selling pepperoni to Italians Tom Horvath Newman, Properoni CEO
“I have to confess an inconvenient business truth: Pepperoni is not Italian.
Although it looks and sounds Italian, “pepperoni” is an Italian-American invention. However, it remains a popular pizza topping in the UK. This is fortunate for our business, which was founded in the 1930s by two Hungarian immigrants.
I joined the company in 2009 when other directors were retiring and leaving. We did what’s trending right now, which is ETA (acquisitive entrepreneurship), and we bought and eventually bought out businesses that had been supplying Pizza Express since the late 1960s.
But yesterday’s success is no guarantee for the future. The pepperoni products available in supermarkets were anemic in color and bland in taste, a far cry from the naturally fermented beechwood-smoked sausages that Hungary has perfected over 150 years.
Pepperoni was ripe for a change. I had no experience creating a brand – I previously worked in finance – but after talking with a number of experienced professionals, I created Properoni, which has the tagline: “Pepperoni Made Right.”
Made with 5 ingredients. It’s the only ultra-unprocessed pepperoni on the market, with the same iconic taste and flavor profile that has quietly transformed pizza restaurant dining occasions for decades.
Some of the best opportunities for building a business are hidden in plain sight. Here’s my advice to anyone building in an established category.
Don’t confuse “new” with “better”. Reinventing the wheel is difficult. The smartest thing to do is to take the wheels that everyone is already using and improve upon them.
Customers can’t always explain what they’ve never been offered. Henry Ford is often quoted as saying that if he had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. Demand often becomes apparent when shoppers finally taste the better version.
Win clearly. When your product is simple, it stands out.
Please continue asking questions. The best answers rarely arrive complete. Keep testing, keep listening, keep improving.
Resilience is a strategy. Please use all means possible. Keep moving forward and don’t let setbacks become a pause button. ”
