Financial support and advice
With rising energy prices, the cost of doing business over the winter months may be an area of causing concern for many businesses. This is not helped by inflation pushing up the price of supply goods, such as ingredients and raw materials.
Many businesses are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic and do not have the cash reserves needed to help reduce their carbon emissions as winter approaches.
We have put together some links to information about a variety of sources for financial support, whatever your business stage or needs. This list is not exhaustive: please contact the Business Support team if you are unable to find suitable sources as we may be able to signpost you to alternative funds or advice.
Please read our making your business greener page for more tips on energy efficiency.
Funding for start-up businesses
BIPC Jumpstart is a grants and support programme for start-up businesses. This specific programme has been funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It is being delivered by the Business and IP Centre Cambridgeshire and Peterborough on our behalf.
Start-Up Loans provide Government-backed personal loans for business purposes. They are available to individuals over the age of 18 who are eligible to start a business in the UK. Generally, loans of up to £25,000 are available at a fixed rate of interest and are repayable over 1 to 5 years.
Delivery partners for the loans in the East of England are listed below. In addition to helping applicants prepare their business plan and cash flow forecast, the delivery partners are responsible for assessing final loan applications and providing ongoing mentoring support to successful applicants.
General business grants and loans
Better Business Finance provides impartial information and support to businesses and entrepreneurs looking to develop and grow including a searchable database of business finance providers.
Co-operative & Community Finance exclusively serves the co-operative and social enterprise sector, and for over 45 years has supported hundreds of businesses ranging from small community‑run enterprises to large award‑winning organisations through the provision of accessible.
The British Business Bank’s Finance Hub offers independent information on finance options for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses. It also provides information and advice to help companies to get investor ready.
The East of England Regional Growth Loan Scheme, supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is available to established, incorporated businesses bases that have a minimum annual turnover of £100k, show strong growth potential and have a medium to long-term funding requirement to deliver that growth.
Find a grant is a service that allows you to search government grants. You can use this service to access government grant funding, search and filter to find a grant that matches your needs, find out if you are eligible to apply for a grant and find out how to apply for a grant.
The Fredericks Foundation provide loans to start up and existing social enterprises and charities.
The Government provides an in-depth online database of information about grants, loans and other financial assistance available to businesses in the UK.
GrantFinder is the leading funding database in the UK covering local, national, and international sources of funding.
There are a number of funding programmes available to support housing-led developments through a partnership with Homes England.
Let’s Do Business Finance is a Responsible Finance provider and a leading provider of business advice, business loans, access to other finance, training, and business events across the South East and East of England.
Support for creative businesses
Creative UK offers loans to small and medium-sized creative, digital businesses at competitive rates to finance business growth.
The Arts Council's National Lottery Project Grants focuses on supporting arts, libraries and museum projects.
Research and development grants
The KEEP+ programme helps eligible small and medium-sized enterprises to develop new products or services in collaboration with universities, research institutes and the best graduate talent.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) offers funding and support across all academic disciplines and industrial areas from the medical and biological sciences to astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economics, environmental sciences, and the arts and humanities.
Workplace costs
Do you have space that is sitting unused? Are there areas in your building that can accommodate more people than they currently do? For example, rooms in pubs could be used for meetings and conferences or by community groups. Perhaps you have outbuildings that could be rented out to local start ups? Can you set up a ‘hub’ - a space for those who perhaps are not in the workplace all the time?
By reviewing the space your business occupies, maybe you could offer low-cost serviced facilities for other businesses? This way, you can make the energy use for your property as efficient as possible while earning extra income.
If your business provides hospitality and food for customers, you might want to review when your busy and quiet times are. Many takeaways and food providers are rethinking the service they offer, given the rising costs of energy and ingredients, and are looking at the cost of trading at certain times and days. Some are experiencing other issues such as not having enough staff, or not being able to fill vacant positions. Some businesses, such as pubs, are taking additional steps by not opening kitchens 7 days a week. Instead, they work with independent traders who park on the premises and provide food during times when it is not cost effective for the business to operate a full kitchen service.
Debt advice
Business Debtline is run by the Money Advice Trust and can help those who are self-employed or have small businesses
GroceryAid has joined forces with Business Debtline to raise awareness of the free financial advice and support available for independent retailers and small business owners
If you need support or advice on reducing your carbon emissions, assisting with diversification, or any issues impacting your business, please contact us by email at openforbusiness@scambs.gov.uk.