Business grants in Northern Ireland: where to look

A business grant is an award of money given to a business for a specific purpose, and unlike a loan you do not have to pay it back. That is how the government’s business support service describes grants, and the British Business Bank adds that grants can come from the government or a private organisation, for purposes such as training, expansion or research and development.

Grants are not free money in the everyday sense. They are tied to a purpose, they are awarded against criteria, and some ask the business to contribute part of the cost itself. The British Business Bank notes that with some grants the awarding body requires you to put in a certain amount of your own money.

Capzy arranges debt finance, not grants. This guide is here to help you find the right door; it is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.

Start with Invest NI and then use the official finders. Invest NI’s website lists its support by theme, including funding, innovation, export and net zero, and the schemes it names as open change over time.

Invest NI’s support page also names the Cluster Acceleration Programme, Dual Market Access, and exhibitions and trade missions among its support. Check each scheme’s own page for who can apply, because eligibility, amounts and deadlines are set scheme by scheme and the page lists them without those details.

An Innovation Voucher gives a business up to £10,000 of expertise from a public sector knowledge provider, such as a university or college, for an innovation project. Invest NI is explicit that the programme does not involve paying any funds directly to participating businesses.

• Who can apply: Northern Ireland-based small enterprises (fewer than 50 employees and up to €10m turnover or balance sheet) and medium enterprises (50 to 250 employees).
• Who cannot: businesses in transport or primary agriculture, medium-sized firms that received Invest NI R&D grants in the past five years, and businesses owned by Invest NI staff.
• How to apply: complete an eligibility questionnaire, and successful applicants then complete an Innovate NI Innovation Assessment before the voucher is issued.
• What it covers: work such as product or service development, materials research or scientific expertise.

The Agri-Food Investment Initiative offers financial assistance for transformative capital investment by Northern Ireland food and drink processors. Invest NI says it aims to enhance the economic performance and competitiveness of the agri-food sector, and it is open to Invest NI clients and new clients in the listed processing sectors.

That is a percentage of eligible costs, so the business funds the rest. A project at the minimum size therefore needs substantial funds of its own, which is where a business may look at asset finance or a property loan for its share. Invest NI also states a maximum per project and an overall funding figure; read both on its page.

The main difference is repayment: a grant is not repaid if you meet its terms, while a loan is repaid with interest and fees. A grant, though, is slower and more conditional to obtain, and it rarely covers the whole cost of a project.

On tax, HMRC’s manual says assistance in the form of grants is subject to the normal taxation rules, and that grants meeting revenue expenditure are normally trading receipts. Ask an accountant how a particular grant will be treated before you build it into a forecast.

You find the right scheme by matching what you want to spend money on to the purpose each scheme funds, and then checking eligibility before you apply. A short list of questions will narrow it quickly.

• What is the project: innovation, equipment, exporting, training or something else?
• How big is the business, in employees and turnover?
• Which sector are you in? Some schemes exclude or target particular sectors.
• Are you an existing Invest NI client, or would you be a new one?
• When does the money need to arrive, and when does the call close?

If you are unsure, the Invest NI helpline is the first call. Our guide to small business grants covers grants UK-wide, and the government-backed business loans guide covers lending schemes that are not grants.

If a grant does not exist for your project or does not cover the cost, the next step is borrowing, from commercial lenders or from the regional funds. Our page on business loans in Northern Ireland describes the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland, which offers loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity up to £5m through its fund managers, and the Growth Guarantee Scheme limits that apply here.

• Start up business loans: Start Up Loans are £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% a year, for businesses trading for less than five years.
• Asset finance for the equipment a grant does not cover
• HMRC Time to Pay if the pressure is a tax bill
• Waiting for the next call to open and funding the project from profit

The biggest risk is planning around a grant you have not yet been awarded. Grant budgets are limited, calls open and close on fixed dates, and an application can be unsuccessful.

• Do not commit to spending before you know the scheme’s rules on when costs count.
• Check whether the scheme pays the business directly or, like Innovation Vouchers, pays for expertise.
• Read the conditions that apply after the award, including what happens if the project changes.
• Treat any consultant who promises to win you a grant with caution, and check their fees and terms.

Capzy is a credit broker, not a lender, and does not arrange or apply for grants. We help with debt finance: if you need to fund the part of a project a grant will not cover, or the gap before one is paid, we can introduce you to lenders, and the lender pays us, not you. We do not arrange equity or investment.

You can check your funding options with a soft search that does not affect your credit score. A full application to a lender may involve a hard search, and any offer is subject to status and lender criteria. For who lends what, see our lender directory.