Business Grants & Loans

Financial assistance may occasionally be available to start a new business or for an existing business making an investment in premises or new equipment.

To gain a general overview of finance and grants for your business, please follow this link to the Business Link website.

To identify any grants, loans or other business support for which your business may be eligible, please follow this link to the Business Link website. 

Finance for Starting a New Business

In the current climate it has become increasingly difficult to source grant or loan funding to start a new business. However this is sometimes still possible for people who meet certain criteria:

• If you have been unable to secure funding from High Street banks, you may be eligible for a loan from The Fredericks Foundation. Further information can be obtained via the following link: Fredericks Foundation website

• If you are unemployed and aged 18 to 30, you may be eligible for support and start-up loan funding from The Prince's Trust.  To find out more please select the following link to: The Prince's Trust website 

• If you are aged over 50 and have been unable to secure bank funding, you may be eligible for a Business Start-Up Loan from PRIME (The Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise). Further information is available by visiting: The PRIME website

External Funding

External funding includes current funding opportunities from Lottery Distributors, Central Government and Charitable Trusts.

Gloucestershire County Council compiles, on a regular basis, a bulletin listing some of the UK external funding opportunities opened to Gloucestershire organisations. The list is not exhaustive and further funding opportunities can be accessed using the GRANTnet software

Gloucestershire County Council has an External Funding Adviser whose key roles are to:

• Provide support to the Council and its partners in identifying bidding opportunities
  
• Provide advice on bids

For further information select this link on Gloucestershire County Councils External Funding: http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/externalfunding