The UKSPF Small Business Grant Scheme is still open and would like to encourage more businesses to apply before the scheme ends.

Grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 are available to purchase new equipment or make improvements to business premises.

The grant was made possible because of the £15m worth of funding awarded to Shropshire Council for a range of projects through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022. This funding round will end in March 2025.

Gary Spence, Shropshire Council’s external funding and technical lead officer in the Business Growth and Investment team, said:

“The recent budget announced that there would be a continuation of the funding for another year, but we are not sure how much this will be or what it will fund. Consequently, we urge businesses to take advantage of the current pot by applying as soon as possible.

We would like as many applications before the Christmas break as possible to allow time for the awards to be made before March 2025.”

Prospective applicants need to complete an online Expression of Interest (EOI) form and demonstrate how the grant will help create new employment opportunities, or develop new products, processes, or services within their business.

These EOIs are assessed, and any projects successfully passing this initial stage are invited to submit a full application.

Nick Davis, founder of award-winning Hobsons Brewery Ltd in South Shropshire, is a recent recipient of one of the grants and used it to purchase a training brew plant (pictured).  This is a small-scale system that can be used to learn about a process or technology before it’s used on a larger scale.

“Buying this equipment has enabled us to launch a series of training courses for publicans, home brewers and beer enthusiasts. We’ve offered courses before but having the training brew plant has introduced a practical ‘hands-on’ element to what our delegates can take away from the training. The courses are very popular, so now we are thinking about how we can develop these further.

We’ve created one additional job, and it’s also had a tremendously positive impact on our inhouse R&D because our own brewers can use the equipment to experiment with different techniques and ingredients.”

Mark Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said

‘This grant can help businesses realise development opportunities, generate jobs and create opportunities for growth.  Applicants are urged to check the eligibility criteria but over 46 businesses across the county have already taking advantage of this funding and we urge anyone thinking about applying to do so as soon as possible.”

Details about how to apply and the EOI form can be found at: UKSPF Expression of interest form guidance | Shropshire Council

Anyone with any questions or queries about applying should email ukspfgrants@shropshire.gov.uk. Unfortunately, queries cannot be dealt with over the telephone.

Further information

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provided £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. From this fund, £15m was acquired for projects across Shropshire.

The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

For more information about the many projects being funded through UKSPF in Shropshire, visit:  https://www.investinshropshire.co.uk/uk-shared-prosperity-projects/