UK. Every status re-read at source on 15 August 2026
Business grants finder: which UK grants can you apply for?
Most pages listing business grants are listing schemes that closed. Everything named here was re-read at gov.uk and the funder's own site on 15 August 2026, and where the honest answer is a loan or a tax relief rather than a grant, this page says so. Answer a few questions on nation, purpose, R&D and size to see the routes actually open to you.
Question 1
Where is the business based?
Business support is partly devolved. UK-wide tax reliefs and Innovate UK competitions apply everywhere, but the grant programmes and the advice services differ by nation.
What this checker covers
- The Department for Business and Trade finance and support finder
- The Cabinet Office Find a grant service
- Innovate UK competitions on the Innovation Funding Service
- R&D tax relief: the merged expenditure credit scheme and enhanced R&D intensive support
- Apprenticeship training funding and the additional employer payments
- Start Up Loans, named honestly as loans rather than grants
- Made Smarter Adoption for SME manufacturers in England
- Devolved routes: Business Wales, Find Business Support Scotland and Invest NI
Business Grants Finder is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with the Department for Business and Trade, HMRC, Innovate UK, the British Business Bank or any government body, and nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice. Every scheme named on this site was re-read at the funder's own page on the date shown at the top, but grant programmes open and close constantly and scheme counts change daily. Confirm the current position and the eligibility criteria on the funder's own page before you spend time on an application, and never pay a fee to access a government grant service.
UK business funding routes and their status, checked 15 August 2026
Last updated
The national routes a UK company can actually use, with what each one is, its status on the day shown, and where to check it yourself. Loans and tax reliefs are labelled as such rather than being presented as grants, because most of the money on this list is not a grant.
Every row was opened and read at the funder's own site on 15 August 2026: gov.uk for the finance and support finder, apprenticeship funding, Start Up Loans and the R&D reliefs; the Innovation Funding Service for the open competition count; the Cabinet Office Find a grant service; madesmarter.uk; and the three devolved business support services. Scheme counts are the number displayed by the live finder on that date and will move. Grant amounts are quoted only where the funder publishes them: where a scheme sets its amounts regionally or case by case, the row says so instead of estimating. This board lists national routes, not the several hundred local authority and sector schemes the official finders index.
| Route | What it actually is | Status on 15 August 2026 | Where to check it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance and support for your business | Official DBT directory of grants, loans, equity and advice | Live, 114 schemes listed, filterable by grant support, region, industry and employee count | gov.uk/business-finance-support |
| Find a grant | Cabinet Office directory of government grant funding | Live, covers SMEs, charities and individuals | find-government-grants.service.gov.uk |
| Innovate UK competitions | Competitive innovation grants for UK registered businesses | Live, 19 competitions open | apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk |
| Merged scheme R&D expenditure credit | Tax relief, not a grant. Taxable expenditure credit | Live at 20% for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024 | gov.uk R&D merged scheme guidance |
| Enhanced R&D intensive support | Tax relief, not a grant. For loss-making R&D intensive SMEs | Live: 186% deduction and a payable credit worth up to 14.5% of the surrenderable loss | gov.uk R&D merged scheme guidance |
| Apprenticeship training funding, England | Direct payment to the training provider, not to you | Live: government pays 100% for apprentices aged 16 to 24 where the employer does not pay the levy, otherwise 95% | gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice/get-funding |
| Additional apprentice payment, England | Cash to the employer for workplace costs | Live: £1,000 for 16 to 18 year olds and some 19 to 24s, in two instalments of £500 | gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice/get-funding |
| Apprentice hiring payment, England | Cash to the employer for recruiting | Announced: up to £2,000 for new apprentices aged 16 to 24 from 1 October 2026, subject to the funding rules | gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice/get-funding |
| Start Up Loan | A loan, not a grant. Unsecured personal loan, credit checked | Live: £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% a year over 1 to 5 years, for businesses fully trading under 5 years | gov.uk/apply-start-up-loan |
| Made Smarter Adoption | Advice plus regionally set technology funding for SME manufacturers in England | Live, with active locations across all nine English regions; amounts set regionally, not published nationally | madesmarter.uk |
| Devolved business support | The nation-level directories of grants, loans and advice | Live in all three nations | businesswales.gov.wales, findbusinesssupport.gov.scot, investni.com |
- The Department for Business and Trade's official finance and support finder listed 114 schemes on 15 August 2026, filterable by grant support, business stage, industry, employee count and region.
- There is no general UK start-up grant. The main national scheme for a business trading under 5 years is the Start Up Loan, an unsecured personal loan of £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% a year.
- For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, HMRC states there is no restriction on claiming for subsidised costs under the merged R&D scheme or enhanced R&D intensive support, so taking a grant no longer automatically cuts an R&D claim.
Cite this page
“UK business funding routes and their status, checked 15 August 2026”, Business Grants Finder, https://businessgrantsfinder.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15). Every row was opened and read at the funder's own site on 15 August 2026: gov.uk for the finance and support finder, apprenticeship funding, Start Up Loans and the R&D reliefs; the Innovation Funding Service for the open competition count; the Cabinet Office Find a grant service; madesmarter.uk; and the three devolved business support services. Scheme counts are the number displayed by the live finder on that date and will move. Grant amounts are quoted only where the funder publishes them: where a scheme sets its amounts regionally or case by case, the row says so instead of estimating. This board lists national routes, not the several hundred local authority and sector schemes the official finders index.
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Tell us what the business does and we'll introduce you to a grant consultant or an accountant who handles R&D and funding claims for companies your size.
Related guides
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
Frequently asked
Where can I find UK business grants that are actually open?
Use the two official finders rather than any article. The Department for Business and Trade's finance and support finder at gov.uk/business-finance-support listed 114 schemes on 15 August 2026 and filters by grant support, business stage, industry, employee count and region. The Cabinet Office's Find a grant service lists government grant funding for SMEs, charities and individuals.
Is there a UK start-up grant?
Not as a general national scheme. The main national route for a business trading under 5 years is the Start Up Loan, which gov.uk describes as an unsecured personal loan of £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% a year over 1 to 5 years. Genuine start-up grants exist but are local or sector-specific.
Can I claim R&D tax relief if I have taken a grant?
For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, yes: HMRC states there is no restriction on claiming for subsidised costs under the merged scheme or enhanced R&D intensive support. For earlier periods a grant could restrict the SME scheme and push the subsidised part into RDEC.
What is the R&D expenditure credit rate?
20% under the merged scheme, for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024. It is a taxable expenditure credit. Loss-making R&D intensive SMEs can instead claim enhanced R&D intensive support, a 186% deduction plus a payable credit worth up to 14.5% of the surrenderable loss.
How much does the government pay towards apprenticeship training?
In England, 100% of the cost up to the funding band maximum for apprentices aged 16 to 24 where the employer does not pay the apprenticeship levy. For all other apprentices the employer pays 5% and the government pays 95%. Levy payers who have used all their funds pay 25% for apprentices outside the 16 to 24 band.
Do business grant schemes differ across the UK?
Yes. Tax reliefs and Innovate UK competitions are UK-wide, but grant programmes and business support services are devolved. Start at Business Wales, Find Business Support in Scotland, or Invest NI in Northern Ireland, and note that apprenticeship funding rates differ in each nation.
Sources
- gov.uk, Finance and support for your business (Department for Business and Trade)
- Cabinet Office, Find a grant
- gov.uk, Find government grants
- Innovate UK, Innovation Funding Service competition search
- HMRC, R&D tax relief: the merged R&D expenditure credit scheme and enhanced R&D intensive support
- HMRC, Check what Research and Development (R&D) costs you can claim
- HMRC, Check if you can claim R&D tax relief
- gov.uk, Get funding for apprenticeship training
- gov.uk, Apply for a Start Up Loan for your business
- Made Smarter, investing in the digital tools
- Business.gov.uk, free local support for your business
- Business Wales
- Find Business Support, Scotland
- Invest Northern Ireland
Check what you qualify for before you write anything
Nation, purpose, R&D and size, with every status re-read on 15 August 2026.
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