A range of national and local organisations offer help and advice on financing your business. Listed below are some of the organisations operating across Cheshire and Warrington, click on the organisations name to see more information:
Access to Finance Services include:
- An assessment of your financial position and funding requirements
- Development of your business plan with financial and other supporting information
- Identification of the finance products that are appropriate for your business
- Coaching and mentoring to develop an investment proposition and pitch presentation
- Introductions to suitable finance providers including access to NW Business Angels
- Introductions to other business support and financial service providers
- Support at meetings with lenders and investor
Access to Work is a publicly funded employment support programme that aims to help more disabled people start or stay in work. It can provide practical and financial support for people who have a disability or long term physical or mental health condition.
Support can be provided where someone needs help or adaptations beyond reasonable adjustments.
Better Business Finance provides impartial information and support to business customers looking to raise finance. It is supported by the British Bankers’ Association.
Visit the
Better Business Finance Website.
British Business Bank aim to make finance markets work better for small businesses in the UK at all stages of their development: starting up, scaling up and staying ahead. The British Business Bank is 100% Government owned, but independently managed. It brings expertise and Government money to the smaller business finance markets.
British Business Bank don’t lend or invest directly. Instead they work with over 80 partners such as banks, leasing companies, venture capital funds and web-based platforms. Businesses apply for finance through partners, and because they work with British Business Bank they can lend and invest more, especially to younger and faster growing companies.
For more information visit the British Business Bank website and the Business Finance Guide
The Cheshire West & Chester Start-up Grant is designed to support and develop new Enterprises and Business within the Borough, through the provision of small scale funding. The Business Start-up Grant is open to enterprises that have started trading or registered with Her Majesties Revenues and Customs for up to a maximum of three months. All applicants are asked to provide the name and contact details of their business advisor.
We require an up-to-date business plan, with evidence of cash-flow forecasts.
The grants panel must be satisfied that the business is viable and the grant is necessary for the purposes of starting up. All Grants are discretionary (i.e. not automatic) and subject to panel approval.
Start-up Grants available to a maximum of £250.
BFS was established in 2002 with a brief to provide a professional and service focused alternative business finance options for businesses that have been unable to obtain funding through a mainstream lender.
Over the years we have grown and developed our finance offering and to date have lent over £91m to businesses across the UK through a variety of funds.
Six out of ten people surveyed* say they cannot remember ever coming together to celebrate with their community. The Big Lottery Fund wants to help change this with our Celebrate! programme.
We are offering grants for groups to hold one off events or activities which celebrate their local community.
You could celebrate something from your community's history or a local hero. Or maybe it's a chance to bring people together to get to know their neighbours better.
What will you celebrate?
For more information visit the Big Lottery Fund Website
The Community Land Trust Fund is a specialist fund to support the development of community-led affordable housing projects in England and Wales.
They support emerging and established Community Land Trusts (CLTs) to form and build permanently affordable housing to benefit their local communities. They believe that there are extraordinary benefits from putting citizens at the centre of housing development: CLTs offer a unique way to address housing need whilst also building sustainable, vibrant communities.
They provide funding and expert support to fledgling Community Land Trusts from initial feasibility – where communities are identifying a need and thinking about a solution – through to financing the pre-planning stage and the construction of affordable homes.
For more information visit the Community Land Trust Fund Website
The Cheshire Science Corridor has been awarded Enterprise Zone status. This is an exciting opportunity, covering over 100 hectares, that has the potential to attract in the order of 20,000 jobs and 500 businesses to Cheshire and Warrington through a significantly enhanced profile; attractive business incentives and the ability to retain and reinvest new business rate revenue.
For more information visit: http://www.cheshiresciencecorridorez.com
Grants between £1,000 and £6,000 are available to Cheshire & Warrington SME businesses to support business investment and expansion. The grant can make up to a 40% cost contribution towards the cost of services such as expert advice, coaching or consultancy across a wide spectrum of business disciplines.
Grants are discretionary and funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
The EU Framework Directive for Research & Innovation
Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private investment that this money will attract.
It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market.Seen as a means to drive economic growth and create jobs, Horizon 2020 has the political backing of Europe’s leaders and the Members of the European Parliament.
They agreed that research is an investment in our future and so put it at the heart of the EU’s blueprint for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs.
Horizon 2020 is open to everyone, with a simple structure that reduces red tape and time so participants can focus on what is really important. This approach makes sure new projects get off the ground quickly – and achieve results faster.
The LEADER programme is a unique source of funding for rural areas across Cheshire and Warrington, and is managed by Cheshire West and Chester Council.
LEADER takes a community-led approach to delivering European funding, with decisions being made by a Local Action Group (LAG) formed of locally-appointed representatives from the private, public and third sectors.
LEADER (a French acronym that translates as ‘Liaisons among actors in the rural economy’) is an EU programme that aims to provide funding for businesses and organisations looking to begin or expand their operations in rural areas. What separates it from other funding programmes is that it is delivered locally rather than nationally, with decisions on how and where the grant money is spent being made by an appointed Local Action Group (LAG) of key representatives from various organisations in the local area.
For more information visit the LEADER Programme website
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund will produce greater levels of investment, increase the focus on the potential opportunities across the Northern Powerhouse regions and provide increased flexibility in the type of funding provided. Together these will contribute to better economic outcomes for the regions’ businesses, growth and jobs.
Britain’s railway is benefiting from the largest investment programme for decades with the investment seeking to promote a world class railway system for the UK. A strong supply chain for the rail sector is critical to the government’s plans for a best quality conventional, light and high speed rail network. Creating the right market conditions for growth and unlocking new opportunities is a government aim and a fundamental driver of the government and rail industry Rail Supply Group (RSG) strategy.
The Fund will provide access to finance to increase the capability and productivity of businesses either currently operating in the rail sector or for businesses aiming to promote crossover products and services into the growing rail supply chain.
The Fund provides an innovative and flexible loan facility to enable applicant businesses to significantly increase their productivity and capability and to unlock the potential of the growing rail supply sector. The Fund will help to remove barriers to entry and will enable rail based businesses to better tackle the challenging demands of the future.
Eurostars is a programme that supports research-performing small and medium enterprises, which develop innovative products, processes and services, to gain competitive advantage. Eurostars does this by providing funding for transnational innovation projects; the products of which are then rapidly commercialized.
If you are farmer, forester or landowner or are a business located in a rural area you may be able to get grant funding support from the Rural Development Programme for England to improve the competitiveness and environmental sustainability of your business.
Different elements of the support have specific eligibility criteria so check the
RDPE Network site.
The Rural Economy Grant (REG) provides grants to enable a significant ‘game-changing', transformational performance in farm, forestry, tourism, agri-food businesses and micro businesses in rural areas in England.
Visit
Defra's Rural Economy Grant Website.
Under the scheme, investors can pick up 50% tax relief on investments of up to £100,000 in a company in single tax year, or £150,000 over two or more tax years. The business must be a UK-based start-up, with fewer than 25 staff and assets of less than £200,000.
Visit the
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) Website.
The Start Up Loans Company is a government funded initiative that provides start up support in the form of a repayable loan together with a business mentor for entrepreneurs across the UK.
Start Up Loans business offers provide exclusive support for entrepreneurs.
From free business cards and accounting software, to discounted legal advice and PR coverage, the offers can help reduce your costs and maximise your success.
Funding Circle
Funding Circle is the world’s leading marketplace exclusively focused on small businesses — more than £600m ($1bn) has been lent to 10,000 businesses in the UK and USA. Today, businesses can borrow directly from a wide range of investors, including more than 40,000 people, the UK Government, local councils, a university and a number of financial organisations.
RBS Small Business Loan 
If your business needs to borrow up to £25,000 and you need it quickly, the RBS Small Business Loan could be the answer. Small Business Loan gives you the amount you need up to £25,000 – borrow from £1,000 up to £25,000. Pay-back terms that suit you - borrow for one year, or up to 10 years. No arrangement fees – and no security fees either. Discounted rates for Royalties Business customers – if you have a Royalties Business Account you can benefit from a 1% discount on borrowing rates.
UK Export Finance
We are the UK’s export credit agency. We help UK exporters by providing insurance to exporters and guarantees to banks to share the risks of providing export finance. In addition, we can make loans to overseas buyers of goods and services from the UK. UK Export Finance is the operating name of the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD).
UK Games Fund
UK Games Talent and Finance CIC is a newly established community interest company that has been established to help develop the UK games development sector, particularly at the early stage. They are not for profit and do not have share capital.
UK Games Fund are aiming to boost the UK’s games business and talent ecosystem. They want their funding to create jobs, promote diverse new teams, enhance skills and increase the amount of new games IPs in the UK. They are working to support the UK’s early-stage games development community.