Guide
Are there start-up business grants in the UK?
Updated
The honest answer disappoints people, which is exactly why so many pages avoid giving it. There is no national start-up grant, and knowing that saves months.
What actually exists nationally
The main national scheme for a new business is the government-backed Start Up Loan, and gov.uk describes it plainly: Unlike a business loan, this is an unsecured personal loan
. The terms as published on 15 August 2026 are £500 to £25,000, a fixed interest rate of 7.5% per year, repayment over 1 to 5 years, no application fee and no early repayment fee, plus free support writing the business plan and up to 12 months of free mentoring for successful applicants (gov.uk).
- You must live in the UK and be 18 or over.
- You must have, or plan to start, a UK-based business that has been fully trading for less than 5 years.
- You will need to pass a credit check, and because it is a personal loan you are personally liable for it.
Where the real grants live
Genuine start-up grants in the UK are local and sector-specific: council schemes, combined authority programmes, university and incubator funds, and industry bodies. They are too numerous and too changeable to list on any static page, which is why two official finders are worth more than any article. The Department for Business and Trade's finance and support finder listed 114 schemes on 15 August 2026 and lets you filter to grant support, to not-yet-trading or start-up stage, to your industry and to your region in about four clicks. The Cabinet Office's Find a grant service covers government grant funding for SMEs, charities and individuals (gov.uk guidance).
How to tell a real scheme from a stale listing
- Open the funder's own page, not the aggregator. If the funder does not have a page for it, it is not a scheme.
- Look for an application deadline or an explicit open status. A page with neither has usually been abandoned.
- Check the last-updated date on the funder's page. Business support programmes are routinely left up for years after they close.
- Beware anything asking for a fee to access grant funding. Government grant services are free to search and free to apply to.
If the business does genuine research and development, stop and read how R&D relief and grants interact before applying for either. For a lot of early-stage technical businesses the tax relief is worth more than any grant they would win, and since April 2024 taking a grant no longer restricts the claim.