What is it?
Our Young Business Capital Grant Fund aims to stimulate an increase in productivity, innovation and employment in the Highlands and Islands through capital investment in young businesses and social enterprises who have been trading for less than five years.
We are looking to support projects that help businesses and social enterprises grow, for example through investment enabling new market entry, enabling an increase in sales or quality employment opportunities.
About the fund
The funding is a non-repayable grant of up to £75,000 which will cover between 20% and 50% of the total cost of a project. The minimum grant award is £10,000. Projects with a total cost of £20,000 or less are therefore unlikely to be eligible.
We will prioritise projects based in remote, rural and island areas where applicants may be eligible for up to 50% funding towards project costs.
HIE’s contribution to projects will be based on the financial need of the business or social enterprise. Applicants will be required to provide financial information on request to allow an assessment to be made.
WHAT CAN THE GRANT BE USED FOR?
The funding can be used towards capital investment, including but not limited to, purchasing equipment, fixtures, fittings and installation costs. You will need to demonstrate that the funding will help to grow and develop your organisation.
Suggested uses include:
- Development of new business premises
- Expansion or upgrading business premises
- Investment in new technology and capital equipment e.g. manufacturing equipment, machinery, tools or associated infrastructure.
WHAT CAN THE FUNDING NOT BE USED FOR?
The funding can NOT be used for:
- Projects that have already started at the time of submitting an expression of interest. Any costs that have been invoiced to the applicant or paid by the applicant prior to submitting an expression of interest will not be eligible for funding.
- The purchase of electric vehicles including bikes and cars.
- Housing upgrades or developments.
WHO’S ELIGIBLE?
To be eligible for the grant your organisation must:
- Be a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)** as defined by the European Commission noted below. Enterprises that are part of a group (e.g. they are owned/controlled by another enterprise with a 25% or more stake in them, or they own/control one or more other enterprises with a holding of 25% or more) are eligible if the whole group meets the qualifying criteria for an SME. If you are unsure, please consult your accountant or legal adviser or contact us for further guidance.
- Have been trading for less than 5 years (start date determined by date of incorporation or registered with HMRC if an unincorporated organisation).
- Own its own premises in the Highlands and Islands or have written permission from your landlord to make changes to the premises and seek planning permission from your Local Authority to implement the works detailed in your application. Evidence should be provided along with planning permissions and any other building consent required.
- Applicants from most sectors can apply but there are exceptions, please see ‘who is not eligible’ below.
- Undertake its business activity in the Highlands and Islands and be liable for non-domestic rates.
Applicants must comply with HIE’s fair work conditions for grant support. If you want to speak to someone about the Fair Work requirement or need more information, please email enquiries@hient.co.uk
The final grant will be subject to specific terms and conditions set out in an individual grant award letter.
**SME Definition:
The main factors determining whether an enterprise is an SME are:
1. Average employees (full time equivalents)
2. Either turnover or balance sheet total
Please see the user guide to the SME definition for further information.
WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE
The following organisations are NOT eligible for this fund:
- Individual enterprises, or those who are part of a group, that are large enterprises, are not eligible (definition of a large enterprise noted above).
- Businesses and social enterprises operating primarily in the retail, food and beverage service or personal services sector e.g. shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, beauticians, alternative therapist etc. or business services sector e.g. lawyers, accountants etc.
- Accommodation and other types of businesses operating from an applicant’s own home e.g. B&B or AirBnB type businesses are not eligible.
- Organisations which are primarily core funded by the public sector are not eligible (core funding does not include project funding and service level agreements with the public sector).
- Religious and political organisations.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications will follow a two-stage process. The first stage is to complete the online Expression of Interest Form (EOI) available on this page above.
You will hear the outcome of your EOI within 4 weeks of applying. If your EOI is unsuccessful we will tell you why and signpost you to other forms of support where possible.
If your EOI is successful, you will be allocated a development manager who will guide you through the second stage of your application.
HOW TO APPLY
- Complete and submit the EOI form.
- On the EOI form, please provide an overview of your project where requested, outlining what you will use the money for so that we can assess at an early stage if your project is eligible or not.
- If you progress to the second stage of a full grant application, you will need to supply supporting documentation. This includes copies of historic accounts (where available), financial projections, business plan, evidence of quotes for goods and services.
This fund is open to applicants until March 2026.
THE SMALL PRINT - THIS IS IMPORTANT
- All HIE grant assistance is discretionary. Grant awards are subject to due diligence and budget availability. Due diligence includes making an assessment on the need for public funding; the viability of the business going forward; the ability of the applicant to deliver the project; the impact of the development on the economy, subsidy control considerations and the strength of the business case presented to HIE.
- Making an application to the scheme does not guarantee that your application will be successful. If you are not successful in your application or are only partially successful e.g. you receive funding of a lesser amount than you applied for, we will contact you to let you know why you have been unsuccessful and point you in the direction of other possible sources of funding.
- There is NO appeals process. We are unable to consider a complaint purely relating to dissatisfaction as to the outcome of a funding decision. However, if you have identified a specific process failure relating to your application then you may wish to make a formal complaint. See our formal complaints process for more information.
Need to speak to us?
If you would like to talk to someone about your application, please email enquiries@hient.co.uk and we will get back to you.
