What is a grant?

A grant is a sum of money that is given to your business. Grants have often been called free money - but they are not. Although they are interest free and you do not normally have to pay them back, providing the terms of the grants are met, there will be time and effort involved in applying for grants.

Who gives grants?

Business grants are provided by central, regional and local government, the European Union, and a number of other national and local bodies.

Why don't I hear about them?

Grants, and information about them, are available from a multitude of different organisations. Some organisations provide the funds, others provide information on them. In many cases schemes are designed to help the local economy improve, and change in emphasis over time. The result is information chaos, which is why it can be worthwhile working with a dedicated grants consultancy to help you identify which schemes are most relevant to your business.

Are there any restrictions?

What criteria do I have to meet in order to qualify for funding help?
Apart from the being located in a particular area and operating within a certain industry sector., additional criteria could range from having to have been trading for less than 18 months, to restrictions on what suppliers might be used with a specific project. Two of the main restrictions that your business will have to satisfy in order to apply to the majority of funding schemes are:

1. Match funding
   One of the strings attached to a grant is that you will normally have to put up some of your own money. It is rare for a grant to cover more than 50% of the cost of a particular venture. In most cases between 15% and 50% will be offered.
2. Specific projects
   Funding will usually relate to a specific project. This could be relocation, the development of a new product or the investigation of a new export market. With major grants such as Selective Finance Investment (SFI) in England the project must become viable within a certain timeframe. The project plan will need to be well defined, with identifiable deliverables. It is likely that a well-constructed business plan will be an important part of the proposal.

Although the majority of grants are designed to support small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), there are a number of grants available for large blue chip companies as well.

Grant for small business and what an SME is?

The companies act defines an SME as:

• Max no. of employees 
  > Micro = 10 
  > Small = 50 
  > Medium = 250
• Max. turnover
  > Small = £2.8 million
  > Medium = £11.2 million
• Max. balance sheet
  > Small = £1.4 million
  > Medium = £5.6 million

For a company to qualify as small or medium it must meet two of the three criteria in any year.

What is meant by 'Special Areas / regions'?

Certain regions get more funding support than others. They are defined as being more needy - these areas are referred to as either assisted areas, priority areas and an objective areas.

Why is the location of my business important?

The amount of funding and the number and type of grant scheme available to you will depend on the location of your business. Many grants are local - designed by the local authority to help local businesses. There are also European and national schemes available to any businesses through-out Europe.

What is meant with “de-minimis?

Grants can be awarded according to the „de-minimis“ regulation. That means: The whole sum of all “de-minimis”-grants for one company must not exceed € 200.000 within a period of three years.