The Angus Council SME Start & Grow Business Grant is a scheme of financial assistance, funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

Grants will be available to support six key themes: Start Up, Resilience, First Employee, Market Development, New Property, and Growth.

Small, medium and large grants are available, between £500 and £7,000.

Apply via the online application form.

If you would like to discuss the grants with a member of the Invest in Angus team, please email invest@angus.gov.uk or come along to one of our drop-in sessions:

• Monday 23 September, 10.30am to 3pm, Carnoustie Library
• Monday 30 September, 10.30am to 3pm, Forfar Library

Grant Themes

The following themes have been designed to reflect local and national evidence of need and demand.

Start Up

Grants for new businesses in their first 12 months of trading. Eligible applicants must:

• Be engaged with Business Gateway and have a named advisor
• Provide a Business Plan
• Demonstrate that the business has been established for less than 12 months and that trading has started

Resilience

Grants for businesses at all stages to help run an industry standard healthy and compliant business with strong foundations. This could include support with:

• Business finance management
• Implementing Digital Systems
• Improving Business Confidence and Wellness
• Emergency Planning
• Business Resilience and sustainability, including physical adaptations to business premises

First Employee

Grants for businesses at all stages to support wage costs of a first PAYE employee. Employees must be Angus residents. Family members, business partners and company directors are not eligible first employees. Eligible applicants must:

• be registered with HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) and be able to provide a PAYE reference number
• adopt fair working practices

Market Development

Grants to enable businesses to expand their market overseas or into other parts of the UK. Examples of eligible costs could include the following:

• Transport and accommodation (where these are related to a specific business event or initiative).
• Exhibition and trade show attendance and stand costs
• Marketing activities and brand development
• New product development
• Consultancy services

A follow-up report outlining activity and anticipated business benefit is required following visits undertaken or stands taken at exhibitions.

New Property

Grants for businesses at all stages to assist with the costs of fitting out new premises where they have been vacant for over 12 months. This is particularly (but not exclusively) for vacant Town Centre properties and aims to help improve the high street environment and stimulate an increase in footfall. Eligible applicants must:

• Have identified a suitable property
• Be engaged with Business Gateway and have a named advisor
• Provide a Business Plan

Growth

Grants for established businesses who are ready to look forward and improve business potential through development, growth, and adaptation. This could include support with:

• Business Development
• Planning and Preparing for Growth
• Diversification
• Scaling Up / Increasing Productivity
• Relocation

Funding Available

• Businesses can apply for a grant of a minimum of £500 and up to a maximum of £7,000.
• Businesses can apply for Capital and/or Revenue costs.
• 100% of project costs can be met up to a maximum of £7,000 with no match funding requirements. However, project costs that exceed the maximum grant available must be met by the business.
• All expenditure must be incurred and invoiced by end February 2025.
• A final report outlining the work undertaken and the anticipated benefits to the business must be submitted alongside the claim for grant drawdown.
• The grant will be paid in one instalment in arrears on submission of the final report accompanied by copies evidence of payment for approved costs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Business must be located within Angus Council boundaries
• Must be able to provide evidence of business registration / status
• Applications invited from Registered Companies, Sole Traders, Partnerships and Social Enterprises
• Fewer than 250 employees
• Where there are business premises, they must be registered for non-domestic rates
• Must have a dedicated business bank account, or a dedicated bank account for the sole purpose of the business and in the name of the business, operational for at least 3 months
• Business must not be connected to a tax haven
• Business must have no outstanding debts to Angus Council
• Only one grant is available per business in any individual financial year
• It is preferable and, for certain themes, a requirement for businesses to relate to a Business Gateway advisor

Any Angus-based business within our key sectors (i.e., Manufacturing and Energy, Green Economy; Tourism; Food and Drink), will be considered a priority; however, applications from other sectors will be considered.

We will assess your application, and we may contact you to get more information if needed. We will review the costs you asked for, which should be realistic and provide value for money.

There is no automatic entitlement to funding and any award granted will be at the sole discretion of Angus Officers with no right of appeal.

The types of costs will vary depending on the needs of the business, and so we will not be prescriptive on what costs can be included in the application. There are however some costs that we cannot fund, these include:

• Activity which does not support an Angus business or Angus-based employee
• Any goods or services that have been bought or ordered, or activities that have already taken place, or already started before receipt of our grant offer
• Any activity where there is another known source of funding available to fund it
• Core running costs
• Working capital, including the purchase of stock or materials
• Expenditure undertaken to meet legislative requirements
• Debt repayment

Grant Amounts

Small: £500 to £3,000
Medium: £3,000 to £5,000
Large: £5,000 to £7,000

Businesses can apply for Capital and / or Revenue costs.

100% of project costs can be requested with no match funding requirements, however willingness from applicants to make a financial contribution is favorable.

Applicants are not guaranteed an offer of the full amount requested. Where appropriate, we may offer of a percentage of the full amount requested.

Businesses should provide a cost breakdown within the application; assessors may decide to fund some and not all these costs.

Project costs that exceed the maximum grant available must be met by the business.

Evaluation panel decision is final, appeals will not be accepted.

Application Supporting Information

Requirements will vary across themes and the application will advise what specific evidence is required, however generally applicants should have the following evidence prepared prior to beginning their application:

• A business plan
• A costs breakdown
• Evidence of the business being connected with a Business Gateway Advisor (Start Up or Growth applicants)
• Copy of certificate of company registration
• Copy of business bank account statement from last 3 months
• Copy of most recent business accounts (businesses who have been trading for more than 18 months)
• Year 1 Cash Flow Forecast (businesses who have been trading for less than 18 months)

Application Period

Eligible businesses can make an application for funding between July 2024 and December 2024.

Angus Council will undertake a series of checks and will aim to process applications within 6 weeks.

All grants must be spent and claims submitted before the end of February 2025.

Apply via the online application form.

Partnership Working

We will work with expert partners to deliver wrap around support to businesses applying for funding:

Invest in Angus
Help businesses invest, work, grow and thrive in Angus. They offer a one stop advice shop – whether it is information on funding, skills, staffing support, land and property or practical business advice. They are focused on meeting the needs of businesses with a flexible, effective team that can respond quickly to requests.

Business Gateway
Provide 1:1 advice, online resources and webinars that can help businesses plan, adapt, and grow. Where specialist input is required, they can connect businesses to the right people and other sources of support.

Scottish Flood Forum
Engage with communities and existing resilience groups in flood risk areas. They can offer a range of impartial assistance either to promote self-help within the community or to support partnership development.