UKSPF Business Support Grants
Nottingham City Council is committed to supporting the city’s business community We are targeting a portion of our UKSPF allocation to support our local businesses, particularly those operating in the city centre and key local retail districts.
We have established a number of grant schemes to support and sustain existing businesses on the High Street, particularly retail businesses and those in the hospitality and leisure sectors.
We have also established a grant scheme open to the city’s wider business community to support business and employment growth
General Eligibility
To be eligible applicant businesses must be:
- Based in the city of Nottingham
- Must have been trading for a minimum of 12 months to apply for a Business Growth Grant and 6 months to apply for a Business Decarbonisation Grant or Shop Front Improvement and Vacant Premises Grant
- Have a UK based bank account in the name of the business applying for the grant
Available funding
The Business Growth Grant aims to support the city’s businesses to access funding to help their business to deliver growth and create new jobs. Its aim is to help support businesses to grow the local economy through new investment, supporting the expansion and diversification of existing businesses located in Nottingham.
The grant aims to support businesses to exploit their existing offer or introduce new systems, software or other physical/intellectual items to grow their business, improve performance, raise productivity and increase skilled employment opportunities for residents of Nottingham
The maximum grant that can be applied for is £10,000. The minimum grant level is £1,000 per applicant with applicants only able to make one application. The award of grants will be tied to the creation of new employment within the business.
The grant will provide a maximum of 50% towards the total cost of the project with the remaining funding provided by the applicant business
Typical projects could be:
The acquisition of plant and machinery, such as:
- CNC Machines & Laser Cutters
- Sewing & Embroidery Machines
- Industrial Printers and printing equipment
- Shot Blast units & Compressors
- Purchase of bespoke IT equipment and software to deliver a new service or product
- Development of a website, particularly to facilitate e-commerce
- Specialist consultants (assessed on a case-by-case basis)
This grant is a 2-stage application process. To apply please complete the Expression of Interest form. If your proposal is eligible, you will be referred to a Business Advisor who will work with you to develop a full application.
The Shop Front Improvement and Vacant Premises Grant is available to independent retail businesses and property owners in Nottingham to improve their shop front or to bring vacant premises back into use. The objective of the grant is to support traders and the local economy as well as improving the retail environment for shoppers, residents and visitors.
The grant has been created with the aim of:
- Improving the appearance of shop fronts and high streets to increase trade and footfall
- Reducing the number of vacant shop units by assisting tenants and property owners to improve the function and appearance of empty shops in order to bring them back into use.
The grant will provide a maximum of 50% towards the total cost of the project in the form of grant up to a maximum of:
- £5,000 for shop front improvements
- £10,000 for vacant premises refurbishment
Typical projects could be:
- New shop front (subject to planning permission)
- Re-painting of shop front in a suitable colour
- Rendering and painting of building
- New signage (subject to planning permission)
- External lighting (subject to planning permission)
- Alterations to doors and level entry to improve access
This grant is a 2-stage application process. To apply please complete the Expression of Interest form. If your proposal is eligible, you will be invited to submit a full application.
The Business Decarbonisation Grant’s main objective is to support retail businesses in eligible areas of Nottingham to reduce their energy related costs whilst also seeking to reduce the city’s carbon emissions. This will allow businesses to increase their profit margins, protect employment for residents of Nottingham and our localised economy.
The grant will support businesses seeking to invest in carbon reduction technologies, products and services that will directly reduce their energy consumption, reducing their overheads and carbon emissions by offering a financial incentive directly to support and promote these investments. This grant scheme is designed to allow businesses to invest in the short term for their longer-term sustainability and support the City of Nottingham and the UK government to achieve our Net Zero targets.
The maximum grant per business is £2,500 and the minimum grant per business is £500. The grant will support up to 50% of the costs of installing carbon reduction measures, the remaining funds being provided by the business.
Typical projects could be:
- Installation of LED lights throughout the business property
- Installation of energy efficient heating and cooling systems
- Installation of insulation
- Installation of solar panels
- Replacement of inefficient boiler to a modern, efficient boiler
This grant is a single application process. To apply please complete the grant application form.