Grants & funds available for businesses

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Falkirk Growth Fund

The Falkirk Growth Fund is available to help businesses meet plans for growth and is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The Fund can provide grants from £1,000 up to a maximum of £25,000 (75% of project expenditure, minimum project spend £1,333) to businesses located within the Falkirk Council area.

This fund aims to provide a financial contribution towards business growth projects which will bring economic benefit to the area by way of increased employment and turnover.

Examples of expenditure include:

• Purchase of new equipment, plant and machinery
• Property expansion or improvements
• Development of new products, services and processes (external costs)
• Training relating to an investment and market development (external costs)
• Exhibiting at a trade exhibition (first time attendance):
  • stand costs
  • accommodation costs capped at £200 per night and max of 2 people. Number of nights should be in proportion to the length of time of the exhibition
  • travel costs capped at standard travel rates and for max of 2 people
  • Merchandise - capped at £1,000

The grant cannot be used towards employee wages, vehicles, general purchase of stock or routine maintenance.

If a business has previously received a grant from the Resilience Fund, an application can be made to the Growth Fund providing it is for a separate project and will lead to additional turnover and employment to that supported by the Resilience Fund. For example, if a Resilience Fund was paid for a new piece of machinery which helped to create jobs 8 and 9 in the business, then a Growth Fund application can only support the 10th job onwards.

Eligibility criteria

The business must have a dedicated business bank account (you will be required to provide the account details as part of the application process and this is the account your grant will be paid into if successful).

• Business must be classified as a Small Medium Enterprise (SME) – Less than 250 employees and turnover less than £45 million
• Business must not be in any debt to the council eg Business rate arrears
• The business must be operated on a full time basis
• The business must operate from commercial premises within the Falkirk Council area, for which they either own or there is a signed lease/rental /licence agreement in place
• At the time of submitting the application, the business cannot be in bankruptcy, liquidation or similar
• The business is not a community group, not for profit organisation, voluntary or charitable organisation (except social enterprises).

What evidence do I need to apply for the fund?

You will need a record of the following:

• Trading name of the business
• Number of employees / turnovers
• Proposed expenditure
• Business bank details
• Copy of your lease if you are paying towards Non Domestic Rates for the premises
• Latest set of annual accounts and management accounts
• 2 quotes for each item being purchased
• Overview of business and plans for growth
• Executive summary:
• a brief overview of company proposals including how you plan to grow the business
• describe the investment for which you are seeking funding support and fully explain the impact it will have on the business
• Management and organisation:
• company structure
• the management team
• skills
• experience
• qualifications
• job titles
• History, business, and products:
• a brief description and history of the business
• a description of the principal products or services
• any proposed future developments
• Market and competition:
• size and location of market - local/ regional/ UK / Overseas
• who are major customers
• who are major competitors

Grant closure date

The grant is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and closed on 16 May 2024 - no more applications will be accepted after this date.

Funds are allocated on a first come first served basis. If the budget is fully utilised before this date then it will close earlier accordingly.

Due to high number of applications, assessments are taking longer than normal to process. We will deal with your application as soon as we can but please be patient. It may take up to 4 weeks before you hear from us.

For any queries in relation to this fund, please email:

Falkirk Growth Fund FAQs

Can funding be claimed which has already been incurred by the business?

No, this must be new spend. Purchases must not be made, or committed to, prior to the grant being approved.

Can training costs be included as expenditure?

Training costs can be considered where they are part of the overall project costs and are directly relating to an investment.

For example, a business invests in new piece of machinery and staff require to be trained on this and there is an external cost.

Please note, staff time is not an eligible cost.

Can second-hand equipment be purchased?

Equipment must be purchased from registered businesses. Business receipts or invoices would need to be provided.

Are general business running costs eligible?

No, any costs which are routinely incurred by your business are ineligible. Examples of this would be the purchase of stock, general consumables, vehicles and cleaning materials.

Can new machinery or equipment be leased and be funded via this grant?

No, machinery or equipment must be purchased by the businesses. Businesses will be required to evidence the payment of items via bank statements etc. before the grant will be paid. Purchases made by hire purchase, lease or other finance agreement would not qualify.

Can I apply for some of the costs of a larger project?

Yes, provided the items being claimed meet the criteria of the funds and the business can demonstrate that these items have been purchased and paid for via the business bank account.

What type of businesses cannot apply?

Community groups, not for profit organisations, voluntary or charitable organisations (except social enterprises) are ineligible for the grant.

Can I pay for eligible items by cash?

No, all payments for approved expenditure must be made through the business bank account and supported by invoices/receipts from suppliers. Items or services paid for by cash do not meet audit trail requirements and are not eligible for grant.

What IT hardware spend is eligible to be claimed?

IT costs relating to the business having to adapt or adopt new technology to carry on trading or diversify. Replacement or upgrading existing IT equipment, which currently meets the needs of the business, would not be eligible.

What IT software spend is eligible to be claimed?

Bespoke software which is tailored to the business and allows the business to carry on trading/grow/diversify is eligible. Off the shelf software such as Microsoft, Sage, QuickBooks etc that are standard business operating software would not be eligible.

Can I claim for costs such as Broadband or Web Hosting?

No, any ongoing charges which would be considered business as normal are not eligible to be claimed. Any funding received should relate directly to a specific project rather than on-going regular business.

Can I claim for computer software user licensing or technical support?

Any initial, one off, licensing or technical support costs relating to the implementation of new software or hardware, as part of a larger project, would be eligible to be claimed. However any ongoing licensing or technical support costs (for example, an annual technical support payment or licence fees) would not be eligible.

Are retailers able to apply for the Falkirk Growth Fund?

Applications from the retail sector cannot be considered unless the business can demonstrate that they are servicing more than a local market. This means they are attracting customers from out with the Falkirk area, and are providing something that is unique and not available from any other local retailers. For example – a specialist skate boarding shop, or servicing an online customer market.

Where a retailers sales only serve the local market, providing grant support can cause displacement ie if one local business receives support but this leads to another local business in the area losing customers then this has no added value to the Falkirk economy.

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Digital Development Fund

Aim

The aim of the Digital Development Fund is to provide businesses located within the Falkirk Council area with financial support to assist them with the development and implementation of new digital systems which aim to improve business performance and enable business growth. Grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 are available to support 75% of eligible expenditure. This is a discretionary funding programme and will provide up to 75% of the business's digital expenditure. Minimum eligible project is £1,333.

What is available :

• Funds 75% of costs up to £25,000 towards introducing new digital capabilities to a business to achieve the following digital business improvement projects:
  • Reducing (non-staff) operational costs
  • Improving market share
  • Enabling employment to be safeguarded or increased
  • Increasing revenues
  • Increasing profit margin
  • Improving cyber security
  • Moving business online
• Applications must clearly demonstrate how a business’s digital project will improve its business performance and safeguard or increase employment.

Businesses are restricted to one grant award from this fund.

Am I eligible?

Below you will find a short summary of eligibility criteria:

• Applicant organisations must operating, located and trading from within Falkirk Council area.
• Must be trading a minimum of 6 months. (Applicant business must have been receiving sales income for at least 6 months).
• Applicants must be a UK resident with the right to work in the UK.
• Businesses must meet the European definition of an SME in relation to employees, balance sheet and turnover.
• All Industry sectors are eligible for consideration.

What can I use the fund for?

• Reducing (non-staff) operational costs
• Improving market share
• Enabling employment to be safeguarded or increased
• Increasing revenues
• Increasing profit margin
• Improving cyber security
• Moving business online

Eligible expenditure is to introduce new digital capabilities to your business:

• Enhancing digital skills of workforce ( external training costs)
• Buying software related to the digital project
• Buying IT, or digital communications, hardware related to digital project
• Building an online booking/ticketing system
• Building an Ecommerce website
• Developing an app ( through an external contractor)
• Digital Consultancy costs
• Building or maintaining websites

Ineligible expenditure (for the grant element of the project) is classed as:

• Initiatives to reduce employment in the business
• Renewals of existing product or software licences, or minor updates to existing products (for example, a software version update)
• Statutory costs, property development and the purchase of stock
• Software or hardware rental
• Ongoing annual charges for platforms, hosting or online content management
• Hardware that is a replacement to existing hardware ie through wear and tear
• Consumable items (ie toner/ink printer cartridges)
• Products purchased through a third party that are not licensed to the applicant for its own use

What evidence do I need to apply for the fund?

You will need a record of the following:

• Trading name of the business
• Number of employees / turnovers
• Proposed expenditure
• Business bank details
• Latest set of annual accounts and management accounts
• 2 quotes for each item being purchased
• Overview of business and plans for growth
• Executive summary:
• a brief overview of company proposals
• describe the investment for which you are seeking funding support and fully explain the impact it will have on the business
• Management and organisation:
• company structure
• the management team
• skills
• experience
• qualifications
• job titles
• History, business, and products:
• a brief description and history of the business
• a description of the principal products or services
• any proposed future developments
• Market and competition:
• size and location of market - local / regional/ UK / Overseas
• who are major customers
• who are major competitors

Q: What is the application process?

The process is in 2 stages:

1. Application Form – Complete the online application form.

2. Claim Process – After you have received your grant award, you will have 3 months to complete your digital project and submit evidence of your grant spend. Once your eligible evidence is verified your grant payment will be disbursed.

Q: What type of expenditure is likely to be accepted?

• Eligible expenditure is to introduce new digital capabilities to your business:
• Enhancing digital skills of workforce
• Buying software
• Buying IT, or digital communications, hardware
• Building an online booking/ticketing system
• Building an Ecommerce website
• Developing an app ( external consultancy costs)
• Digital Consultancy costs
• Building or maintaining websites that are brochures or provide information

Ineligible expenditure (for the grant element of the project) is classed as:

• Digital marketing.
• Marketing: attending trade fairs, PR & marketing activity, and branding.
• Initiatives to reduce employment in the business.
• Software or hardware rental costs.
• Existing and/or ongoing annual charges for platforms, hosting, or online content management.
• Gaining quality accreditation.
• Building improvements, groundworks, fixtures, and fittings.

Further eligibly criteria

The business must have a dedicated business bank account (you will be required to provide the account details as part of the application process and this is the account your grant will be paid into if successful).

• The business is not connected to a tax haven, as set out in the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No. 2) Act 2020
• Business must be classified as an Small Medium Enterprise (SME) – Less than 250 employees and turnover less than £45 million
• Business must not be in any debt to the council eg Business rate arrears
• The business must be operated on a full time basis
• At the time of submitting the application, the business cannot be in bankruptcy, liquidation or similar
• The business is not a community groups, not for profit organisations, voluntary or charitable organisations (except social enterprises).

We anticipate high levels of interest in the fund and applications are processed in chronological order. Please be patient - we will try and process applications as quickly as we can. This could take up to 15 working days.

If you want to ask a question regarding your application you can email us at the email address below. Please quote your FC reference number in all communications.

Grant closure date

The grant is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and closed on 16 May 2024 - no more applications will be accepted after this date.

Funds are allocated on a first come first served basis. If the budget is fully utilised before this date then it will close earlier accordingly.

Due to high number of applications assessments are taking longer than normal to process. We will deal with your application as soon as we can but please be patient. It may take up to 4 weeks before you hear from us.

Frequently asked questions:

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Business Loans Scotland

Business Loans Scotland is a consortium of Scotland's local authorities, providing loan finance up to £100,000 to new and growing, small and medium sized businesses(SMEs) across Scotland.

The loan fund offers gap funding to SMEs within the geographic area of operation (including Falkirk) where public sector funding (including Business Loans Scotland's contribution), does not exceed 50% of the total funding package. Visit www.bls.scot for further information and how to apply.

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The Falkirk Business Loan Fund

The Falkirk Business Loan fund offers loans to start up and existing businesses based in the Falkirk Council area. It can be used to help reach business goals, invest and grow.

• Loans from £1000 - £15,000
• Interest rate of 6%
• No admin / arrangement fee
• No early repayment fee
• No hidden charges
• Simplified application process
• Security is required

To apply, or find out more information contact DSL:

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Recovery Loan Scheme

The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) is designed to support access to finance for UK businesses as they look to invest and grow.

Businesses can use the finance for any legitimate business purpose – including managing cashflow, investment and growth. However, businesses must be able to afford to take out additional debt finance for these purposes.

The British Business Bank will administer the scheme on behalf of the of the Secretary of State for BEIS.

You can apply to the scheme from the British Business Bank website.

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Employer Recruitment Incentive Fund

Support to recruit a young person may be available from the Employment and Training Unit (ETU), which can help with wages costs for the first 12 months of employment. Employer Recruitment Incentive has more information.

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Environmental Improvement Fund

Grants of up to £5,000 may be available for purchasing tools for regular clean-ups, hire of waste equipment, waste disposal costs and more. Environmental Improvement Fund has more information and details on how to apply.

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Energy Efficiency Fund

The Energy Efficiency Fund is a fund for local small and medium enterprises to embrace net zero ambitions and to support Scotland's national net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2045.  

This discretionary fund provides financial assistance to help businesses meet their net zero targets. The fund can provide up to 75% grant support (up to £25,000 per grant) to support local businesses make energy changes to business premises and operations. For example, a move to low carbon heating systems, solar powered energy, or other measures to reduce emissions.

The Energy Efficiency Fund can also support businesses to install EV charge points at their business premises. Businesses might want to consider installing solar panels first as this will help towards the increased electricity costs associated with the EV charging points. Solar panels are also eligible for the Energy Efficiency Fund. Please note the fund is only available for business premises – businesses that operate from home are not eligible for support. (see Carbon footprint methodology for EV charge points below)

Eligibility criteria

The business must have a dedicated business bank account (you will need to provide the account details as part of the application process, and this is the account your grant will be paid into if successful).

• Business must be classified as a Small Medium Enterprise (SME) – less than 250 employees and turnover less than £45 million
• Business must not be in any debt to the council eg Non Domestic business rates arrears
• The business must be operated on a full-time basis and have a business bank account
• The business must operate from commercial premises within the Falkirk Council area, for which there is a legally constituted signed lease/rental /licence agreement in place
• At the time of submitting the application, the business cannot be in bankruptcy, liquidation or similar
• The business is not a:
• community group
• not for profit organisation
• voluntary or charitable organisation (except social enterprises)
• Businesses can make more than one application if it is for separate projects and each application can demonstrate a reduction of CO² emissions.

What can this fund be used for?

The Energy Efficiency Fund can be used to support local businesses make changes to business premises and business operations to support a reduction of their Carbon Footprint from energy consumption. This might include:

• Changing to a low carbon heating system
• Installation of low and zero carbon generating technologies, such as solar PV, biomass, micro-wind etc
• Building fabric upgrades such as insulation, energy efficient lighting, draught-proofing, double or triple glazing

What this fund cannot be used for:

• Routine property maintenance
• Carbon offsetting activities
• Purchase of consumables
• Purchases which exacerbate or do not reduce carbon footprint
• Feasibility studies / consultant fees
• Staffing costs
• Projects where a reduced Carbon Footprint cannot be demonstrated
• Purchase of vehicles

How much can I apply for?

Maximum intervention rate is up to 75% - up to a maximum value of £25,000.

The minimum grant is £1,000 (requires eligible expenditure of £1,333).

Businesses can apply for more than one Energy Efficiency Fund for separate projects. However, please note only one application can be considered at a time. Any subsequent applications can only be made when a decision has been confirmed on the initial application.

How do I apply?

A completed online application should be submitted (explaining why external financial assistance from Falkirk Council is necessary to enable the project to proceed) together with the most recent annual accounts (if applicable) or up to date management accounts, quotes and baseline emissions.

Upon receipt of a complete application a Council officer will review the application against assessment criteria and will be in touch to discuss your application. A decision will be made shortly after this meeting and, if successful, a formal offer of grant will be made.

Assessment criteria

All applications will be assessed based on the criteria below.

Applicants must:

• Provide accurate, baseline carbon footprint calculations, information on how to do this is provided below.
• Demonstrate how the proposed investment will reduce carbon footprint and quantify this.
• Provide full details of any proposals, such as new equipment or new processes (eg specification of new lighting or low or zero carbon technology).
• Demonstrate how this investment contributes to the organisations wider Net Zero goals/strategy.
• Demonstrate wider environmental/community benefits of the proposal.

Carbon footprint calculations methodology

To calculate the potential carbon savings from your project you need to calculate your baseline emissions. You will then need to establish the potential emissions once the project has been implemented these are called project scenario emissions. You can do this by assuming a certain percentage reduction from baseline emissions.

The final step is calculating the potential savings the project has made which you do through taking the difference between baseline and project scenario emissions.

Emissions can be worked out using emissions factors from the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero. Please use the condensed set which is the first option.

We understand these are complex calculations so if you need help to complete the application or to perform the calculations, please email us as climatechange@falkirk.gov.uk.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

You will find the emissions factors for heating under the fuels tab. For gas please use 'natural gas' factor and for oil please use the 'burning oil' factor. You will notice there are several emissions factors listed for each fuel source, use the one that states 'kg CO2e'.

In terms of the electricity emissions factor you will find this under the UK electricity tab.

Please refer to worked example below, this is based on a project that is installing roof insulation.

Baseline emissions

This project will result in a reduction in heating emissions. The baseline can be established through looking at the previous years (full year) heating consumption which you will get from an energy bill, or on your account online.

If we go on gas and assume a previous year gas consumption of 30,000 kWh this would be:

Project scenario emissions

This is where an assumption needs to be made on what the potential savings for the project could be. According to the Energy Saving Trust a building can lose as much as 25% of its heat through the roof.

To work out the project scenario emissions we are assuming we can save 25% on heating therefore in this example it would be 25% of 30,000 and could potentially reduce annual gas consumption by 7,500 kWh. So new energy consumption would be 22,500 kWh.

Project scenario = new kWh consumption x heating emissions factor/1000.

So in this case:

Project savings

This is simply the baseline emission project scenario emissions so in this case 5.49-4.58 = 0.91 tonnes CO₂e. Energy Savings Trust estimates that insulation can last as much as 40 years so over 40 years this would work out as 36.4 tonnes CO₂e saved.

Note that if you are installing a heat pump you will need to factor in an increase in electricity consumption into your calculations. For example, if you use gas or LPG as current heating source the correct assumption is there will be no emissions associated with these heating sources once project is installed. The emissions associated from this project will come from the increase in electricity use from heat pump. Please see Energy Saving Trust for more information on heat pumps.

Carbon footprint calculations methodology for EV (electric vehicle) chargers

Please use the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Greenhouse Gas conversion factors 'condensed set' to get the emissions factors for transport. Refer to worked example below for calculating potential emissions reduction from EV charge points. The reduction in emissions will likely be in the behaviour change so where a diesel/petrol car is replaced with an EV. We are making the assumption that the EV chargers will encourage staff to change to EVs and so this will reduce the emissions from business mileage. Note we also need to account for the fact that grid electricity will be used to charge vehicles.

Please refer to worked example below for guidance on calculating emissions savings.

If we assume that installing EV chargers in business premises encourages a move from a diesel car to an EV, we first need to work out what the emissions of a diesel car are, this is the baseline:

Baseline

Car covers 10,000 business miles per year and it is a 2 litre diesel so need to use the 'passenger vehicles' tab on the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Greenhouse Gas conversion factors 'condensed set', and then refer to table 'cars (by size)'. A 2 litre diesel car is defined as large, you will see from the comments on the spreadsheet for some guidance.

The emissions factor for a large diesel car is 0.3357 kg CO₂e per mile so if travelling 10,000 miles it would be:

Project scenario

This is the next step of the calculation to calculate emissions from travelling same distance if we replaced diesel car with EV.

On the passenger vehicles section in the table 'cars by size' if you scroll along you will find battery electric vehicle and notice that is states 0.0 which is essential saying the vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions. We do need to account for the electricity used when charging the EV(s). In this case we need the tab 'UK electricity for EVs', this tab is highlighted in blue.

Again on this tab go to cars by size and if we assume that it is a large car again, then the emissions factor for charging the vehicle is stated as 0.08498 kg CO₂e per mile. So the emissions for this element is:

Savings

The savings will therefore be calculated as:

Claims process

Successful applicants will be required to submit evidence of all payments in relation to the project before any grant payments will be made. Payments made in cash cannot be included in any claim. All grant payments will be made retrospectively, at the successful conclusion of the project.

Where projects are not fully completed, claims will not be processed, and no grant payments will be made.

Special conditions of the fund

The project must NOT commence before approval is given as the grant cannot be awarded retrospectively. All payments for approved expenditure must be made through the business bank account and supported by invoices from suppliers.  The grant is paid after the payments have been made. Please note that items or services paid for by cash do not meet audit trail requirements and are not eligible for grant.

Monitoring and evaluation

Successful applicants will be required to submit updated carbon calculations to measure the impact that the project has had reducing your business carbon emissions. This can be done using the same methodology as outlined above. This will be done 12 months after project completion and a member of the Energy and Climate Change Team will get in touch as a reminder to send this information in.

For any queries in relation to this fund, or help with calculating baseline emissions, please email: climatechange@falkirk.gov.uk

Useful resources

• Zero Waste Scotland – Energy Assessments
• Zero Waste Scotland – Guides
• Zero Waste Scotland – Energy Audit
• Energy Saving Trust
• Business Climate Hub
• Business Energy Scotland · Make Your Business Greener

Before you begin your application

You will need a record of the following:

• Trading name of the business
• Number of employees / turnovers
• Proposed expenditure
• Business bank details
• Copy of your lease if you are paying towards Non Domestic Rates for the premises
• Executive summary:
• a brief overview of company
• describe the investment for which you are seeking funding support and fully explain the impact it will have on the business
• Management and organisation:
• company structure
• the management teams
• skills
• experience
• qualifications
• job titles
• History, business, and products:
• a description and history of the business
• a description of the principal products or services
• any proposed future developments
• Market and competition:
• size and location of market - local/ regional/ UK / Overseas
• who are your major customers
• who are your major competitors
• Latest set of accounts and management accounts
• 2 quotes for each item being purchased
• Calculation of baseline carbon footprint
• Projected emissions reduction from this investment

Frequently asked questions

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Expert Help - Support to help your business succeed

The Falkirk Council Expert Help scheme allows businesses to access support from a specialist to help them grow and develop their business for free.

What can this support be used for?

This support can be used for the following purposes

• Marketing
• IT and Digital Media
• Finance
• Procurement
• Strategy, Organisational Development and HR

What is available?

• Up to 3 days fully funded support
• Advice from experienced, qualified, professional experts
• Wide range of sectors and industries covered

Who can apply

Any SME (< 250 employees) involved in manufacturing or business to business services with ambition to grow turnover over the next 3 years.

The retail sector or B2C may be considered where the market is wider than local area eg implementation of e-commerce platforms.

How to apply

Contact:

Expert help is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

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Low Carbon Advisory Service (LCAS)

The Falkirk Council Low Carbon Advisory Service (LCAS) offers professional expert advice and support to Falkirk area businesses to save energy, reduce carbon emissions, increase resilience, boost profits and help play your part in tackling climate change.

What does this service include?

• Practical advice on how to reduce energy consumption
• Advise on resource efficiency – materials, water, waste, supply chains etc
• Help with measuring and reducing your carbon emissions
• Environmental audit
• Climate change awareness training
• Support with how to market your sustainability achievements
• Advice on potential funding for improvements and practical help with applications - Falkirk Council Energy Efficiency Fund

What is available?

• Up to 3 days fully funded support
• Practical advice from experienced, qualified, impartial, professional experts
• Wide range of sectors and industries covered

Who can apply

Any private sector business with less than 250 employees.

How to apply

Contact:

Low Carbon Advisory Service is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

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Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS)

The Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS) provides finance options to support new and growing businesses in Scotland.

For example, IFS funding can help small businesses:

• fund expansion projects
• lease new commercial premises
• purchase assets
• hire a new team
• purchase new machinery or equipment
• launch a new product or service

The fund offers 3 commercial finance options:

• smaller loans of £25,000 to £100,000
• debt finance of £100,000 to £2 million
• equity investment of up to £5 million

The smaller loans are for new or growing businesses. You can borrow between £25,000 and £100,000 from the fund and pay it back with interest over an agreed period. The smaller IFS loans are managed by DSL Business Finance.

The debt finance option offers loans for businesses that can demonstrate growth potential. You can borrow between £100,000 and £2 million from the fund, then pay it back with interest over an agreed period. The IFS debt finance is managed by The FSE Group.

The equity finance option offers funding for businesses with ambitious plans for growth. Equity finance of up to £5 million is available and provides funding in exchange for part ownership of the business, such as selling shares. The IFS equity finance is managed by Maven.

For more information visit Investment Fund for Scotland.

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Other support available

FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot directs your business to Scotland’s public sector support. It gives customers an overview of all funding and services offered by public sector organisations across Scotland. This makes it quicker and easier for businesses to find the information, advice and support they need, when they need it.

Information is available for businesses of all sizes – from start-ups to established companies, from sole traders to large enterprises, from commercial businesses to social enterprises.

For more information about any of these support schemes, please contact us: