Innovate UK
The UK's national innovation agency. Competitions for R&D projects across every sector, from single company feasibility studies to large collaborative programmes.
Typically £100k to £2m
Business grants UK
Business grants in the UK, explained
Grant funding is non-dilutive: you keep your equity and you do not pay it back. The difficulty is knowing which of the hundreds of UK competitions actually fits your project, and then evidencing it well enough to score. This page covers both.
Who funds what
Horizon Europe and the EIC
European programmes open to UK participants, including the EIC Accelerator for breakthrough deep tech and Eurostars for collaborative SME R&D.
Up to €2.5m grant, plus optional equity
ARIA and mission agencies
High risk, high reward research programmes, plus targeted challenge funds run by government departments and agencies.
Varies widely by programme
Defence and security
Themed and open calls for dual use and defence technologies, usually staged from proof of concept to demonstration.
£100k to several million
Devolved and regional funds
Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and combined authority schemes, often supporting capital, jobs or specific local sectors.
£5k to £500k
Sector and catapult programmes
Space, energy, agri, health and manufacturing programmes run with catapults, research councils and industry partners.
£25k to £1m+
Are you eligible for a business grant?
Eligibility varies by competition, but most UK innovation grants expect a UK registered company, a defined project with a clear start and end, technical or commercial risk that justifies public funding, and match funding for the portion of costs the grant does not cover. Funding rates usually depend on company size and the type of research, with small companies receiving the highest intervention rates.
Grants fund the project, not the company. Work that would happen anyway is rarely fundable, but a well defined new strand of work inside a mature product often is.
How to apply
Find a competition whose published scope matches your project, register on the funder's portal well before the deadline, then write to the scored questions with evidence rather than description. Our grant application guide walks through each step, and the grant directory shows what is open and when it closes.
Common questions
What business grants are available in the UK?
UK business grants fall into innovation and R&D funding (Innovate UK, Horizon Europe, ARIA, defence programmes), regional and devolved growth funding, and sector specific challenge funds. Innovation grants are the largest pot for companies developing new products, processes or services. Our live grant directory lists every open UK business innovation competition we track.
Do business grants have to be paid back?
No. Grants are non-dilutive and non-repayable, provided you deliver the funded project and meet the reporting conditions in the offer letter. They are usually paid quarterly in arrears against actual eligible costs.
Can a company claim R&D tax relief on a grant funded project?
Yes. Under the merged R&D scheme, grant funding no longer restricts the claim, so eligible companies can hold a grant and still claim relief on qualifying expenditure for the same project. A separate de minimis limit applies to Northern Ireland registered companies claiming ERIS.
How competitive are UK business grants?
Most open innovation competitions fund somewhere between five and twenty per cent of applications. Success depends far more on fit with the published scope and the quality of evidence than on the size of the company applying.
Find the grant that fits your project
Book a free consultation and we will match your project against the competitions you can realistically win.