The Essential Directory For UK Businesses
SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) is a type of tax relief which is designed to encourage investors to invest in UK based businesses. Once approved, there’s a process which businesses must go through with HMRC in order to claim on behalf of the investor.
Investors can claim eligible investment against their tax bill, significantly reducing capital risk.
SEIS allows investors to claim back up to 78% of their investment in the first year.
You can get help from the government to pay for apprenticeship training.
The amount you get depends on whether you pay the apprenticeship levy or not. You pay the levy if you’re an employer with a pay bill over £3 million each year.
Apprenticeships must last for at least a year. They can last up to 5 years depending on the level the apprentice is studying.
Innovate UK can help you find and choose an expert from one of the following places:
*Specialist design advisers
*Further education colleges and universities
*IP (Intellectual Property) advisers
*Research and technology institutes
*Specialist technical consultancies and Catapult centres
Are You Eligible?
To qualify for an Innovation Voucher you must:
*be starting up or running a micro, small or medium-sized UK business
*need help with something that’s a big challenge for your company, not just a minor improvement or change
*have not worked with this expert adviser previously
Innovate UK operates Launchpad funding competitions designed to assist tech-focused businesses in specific geographic areas.
Eligibility
To qualify for funding you must:
*be an early-stage SME (small or medium-sized UK business)
*work in a high-technological industry
*have ambitions to grow your business
*work in a specific UK location
*plan to move into the area or to work with a company already in the cluster
*attract private funding to match the grant you receive
You can win a contract to develop and research a new service and/or product but it has to be for the public sector.
Your innovative idea must help improve public services by solving a specific problem.
Eligibility
You can only apply for an SBRI contract if you are a business.
How to apply
Each funding competition has a different theme. Opening dates and deadlines vary. You must apply online. Click the link for further details.
Get a grant from Innovate UK to run an R&D project which can be utilised to develop a new product, process or service.
Grant levels do vary and you can get funding of up to 60% of your total project costs, even if its to prove that your idea will work. It can even be used to find a potential market for your product or service.
You can also get funding of up to 45% to develop a prototype; you will however need to fund the remaining costs yourself.
Eligibility
To qualify for Smart funding you must:
*be an early-stage, micro, small or medium-sized UK business or be thinking of starting a business
*have both the ambition and potential to achieve high growth
*work in science, engineering or technology industries
How to apply
Thankfully the 'Smart' funding programme is not restricted to specific themes or industries.
Opening and closing dates vary, for more information click the link.
7 Holbein Place, London
SW1W 8NR
These start up grants are only offered to individuals who are operating as a non-profit or entrepreneurs who are about to start a new business venture.
They can also help with introducing new setups for their company. The Lottery Fund also takes the outcomes of your business endeavours into consideration when assessing applications.
It takes eight months to process the application so you should start the precess asap!
NW1 2BE
This is challenge-led competition that funds collaborations between industry, academics and SMEs to solve business and scientific 'Challenges' which if solved will deliver 3Rs and commercial benefits, either by improving business processes or developing a commercially viable product.
It's possible to apply for a single phase or a double stage challenge or even submit a new challenge idea.
Innovate UK can assist you to get access to EU funding through the Eurostars programme.
This funding can be used for research or to develop an innovative product, process or service.
You can also use this service to find partners from other European countries to work with on your project.
Eligibility
You must be:
*be a small or medium-sized UK business
*work in a high-tech industry
*want to work with other businesses in Europe
Horizon 2020 funding for research. As well as funding for innovation that's ground breaking, improves European research standards or responds to challenges like food security or climate change.
There is a complicated bidding process with several different grant calls going out at any one time, as well as various delivery agencies.
It's likely you will have to bid with at least one other company from another member country of the European Union.
