Grants & Funding
...tapping into financial assistance during the downturn...
During the recession it may be necessary to seek extra funding to tide your business through hard times or to invest in developments that will enable you to survive and maximise your opportunities.
There are a number of sources of grants and funding for tourism businesses and the predominant bodies are detailed below.
To search through all grant schemes relevant to you and your business, use Business Link's Grant and Support Directory which details potential sources of help with starting or developing your business.
Extra Government Assistance for Businesses
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced a package of measures designed to assist businesses with liquidity problems.
The Government measures include:
* A £10bn Working Capital Scheme, securing up to £20bn of short term bank lending to companies with a turnover of up to £500m
* An Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, securing up to £1.3bn of additional bank loans to small firms with a turnover of up to £25m
* A £75m Capital for Enterprise Fund (£50m from Government augmented by £25m from the banks) to invest in small businesses which need equity
Click on the links below to download more information about these schemes:
Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
Grant for Business Investment
The GBI is a new SEEDA grant that aims to help businesses increase productivity by funding capital investment in equipment and technology. The scheme is for businesses seeking to expand, modernise, rationalise, diversify and increase productivity in order to maintain or establish sustainable growth and provide skilled jobs.
Follow this link to find out more about the grant scheme
Ongoing sources of funding
Finance South East is an organisation that provides grants and loans for a variety of business types. The transition fund is one opportunity for businesses to seek support during the downturn.
Offer two particularly useful grants for Farm Diversification and the re-use of Redundant Buildings.
Provide grants for a variety of reasons but projects must be sympathetic to the character and importance of the building, site or landscape.
The central gateway into all funding generated by the National Lottery. The site has details on the eight funding bodies and a useful search tool for working out what you can apply for.
Museums, Libraries and Archives South East (MLA)
Specifically for museums and collections, the MLA have their own grants as well as signposting to other relevant sources.
Grants are available for community groups and farms but not specifically for tourism projects.