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Local Landscape

Funding and business support in North East England

Open to businesses in North East England, including schemes for the wider region and the whole country.

North East England's page: people to ring, events nearby and what is only for North East England

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We will email you when new funding appears for a business in North East England, wanting to grow and become more productive. To get something different, change the filters above first.

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For all of North East England 10 schemes

Open all yearSupport programme

The Entrepreneurs' Forum

Entrepreneurs' Forum

A membership network where owner-managers of North East businesses meet at events and through peer-to-peer mentoring to share experience and grow faster.

Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearTool or resource

Locate North East England

Invest North East England

A free search facility for commercial land and property in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Durham, focused on key sites of 10,000 to 50,000 square feet. Provided with a free package of support from Invest North East England.

Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Open all yearGrant

Made Smarter Adoption Programme

Made Smarter, North East Growth Hub

Support for small and medium-sized manufacturers in the North East and Tees Valley to adopt digital technology, with a digital roadmap, workshops, grants for expert technical advice and for new software or equipment, and fully-funded Digital Interns.

Amount
Grants to help purchase new software and/or equipment (up to 50% of the overall cost); grants for expert technical advice (amount not stated)
Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearInvestment

NPIF II - Maven Equity Finance

Maven Capital Partners

Equity finance of up to £5 million for ambitious, growth-focused start-ups and established SMEs in the North East of England. Run by Maven as fund manager for the British Business Bank's Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.

Amount
Up to £5,000,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearInvestment

North East Accelerate Fund

Mercia Ventures

Equity investment of £50,000 to £1 million in innovative, early stage companies from start-up to scale-up stages.

Amount
£50,000 to £1,000,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearLoan

NPIF II - NEL Smaller Loans

NEL Fund Managers, British Business Bank

Loans of £25,000 to £100,000 from NEL Fund Managers for new or growing businesses in the North East and Tees Valley, for growth such as expansion, new staff, equipment, working capital or premises.

Amount
£25,000 to £100,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Open all yearLoan

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II: Debt Finance

NEL Fund Managers, British Business Bank

A debt finance fund to help smaller business owners deliver their business ambitions and grow. Aimed at smaller companies that can demonstrate growth potential.

Amount
£100,000 to £2,000,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Check statusSupport programme

Raise funds to grow your business

Sunderland Software City

Helps founders understand and access grants, funding and investment, run by Sunderland Software City.

Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Open all yearInvestment

North East Spinout Inspire Fund

North East Fund, Northstar Ventures

Equity investment in companies spinning out from Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities to commercialise research and innovation.

Deadline
Open all year
Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 6 out of 10
Check statusGrant

Sir James Knott Fund

Sir James Knott Fund

Funding for charitable activity in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Hartlepool.

Area
North East EnglandLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10

For the whole North of England 4 schemes

Open all yearInvestment

Raise investment with NorthInvest (pitch to angel investors)

NorthInvest

A business can apply to pitch to NorthInvest's angel investors for equity investment. Aimed at early-stage northern tech start-ups in healthtech, fintech, sustainability, AI and media.

Amount
£50,000 to £2,000,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
The North of EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearLoan

Flexible Business Finance

Business Enterprise Fund

Business loans from £500 to £250,000 for startups, small and growing businesses across the North of England, for startup costs, working capital, growth, equipment and refinancing.

Amount
£500 to £250,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
The North of EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Open all yearLoan

Key Fund Social Investment

Key Fund

Grants and loans for social enterprises in the North and the Midlands.

Amount
£5,000 to £300,000
Deadline
Open all year
Area
The North of EnglandLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Check statusSupport programme

RTC North business support programmes

RTC North

RTC North Ltd is a support provider that delivers publicly funded business support, expert advice and innovation programmes across the North of England, for start-ups, scale-ups, manufacturers and supply chains.

Area
The North of EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10

National schemes 116 schemes

Open to businesses across England or the UK, including North East England.

Closing soonGrantUK-wide

Scale-up Fund

Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Funding for investment into building a manufacturing facility or developing a specific process at pilot-scale or demonstration-scale.

Amount
£2,500,000 to £20,000,000
Deadline
Closes 4 November 2026 at 11am (3 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Closing soonGrantUK-wide

CfI: Battery innovation for dual use & defence Phase 1

Innovate UK, Battery Innovation Programme

Funding for industrial research solutions to strengthen supply chain resilience and onshore critical dual use capabilities in battery innovation. Open to organisations of any size.

Amount
Share of £2 million, inclusive of VAT (total fund £2,000,000)
Deadline
Closes 4 November 2026 at 11am (3 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Closing soonGrantUK-wide

DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund Drawdown 5

Innovate UK

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £150 million to create scale up manufacturing facilities for zero emission vehicle technologies.

Amount
£2,500,000 to £20,000,000
Deadline
Closes 4 November 2026 at 11am (3 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 10 out of 10
Closing soonGrantUK-wide

FOAK Builder: Programme Entry Expression of Interest

Innovate UK

Phase 1 expression of interest for late-stage climate tech businesses developing First of a Kind (FOAK) projects, offering technical assistance (in-kind support) and possible Phase 2 grant funding. Companies must be UK registered micro, small or medium enterprises working alone, or as a lead.

Amount
Up to £315,000
Deadline
Closes 5 November 2026 at 11am (4 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Closing soonSupport programmeEngland-wide

Social Investment Gateway Programme

The SSE, School for Social Entrepreneurs, Social Enterprise UK

A free 12-month support programme for charities, social enterprises and community organisations preparing for social investment, with a choice of a Match Trading grant or a repayable grant.

Amount
Up to £24,000
Deadline
Closes 6 November 2026 at 12 noon (5 days)
Area
EnglandLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Closing soonCompetitionUK-wide

iX Challenge: Next-Generation Electronics for UK Bathymetric Sonar

Innovation Exchange programme, Innovate UK, Innovation Exchange, Innovate UK Business Connect

A challenge to develop a modern replacement electronics platform for the GeoSwath bathymetric sonar system, with a grant of up to £60K for a 3-month project. Open to established businesses, academic institutions, start-ups, SMEs and individual entrepreneurs that are UK based or intend to set up a UK base.

Amount
Up to £60,000
Deadline
Closes 6 November 2026 at 5pm (5 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Closing soonCompetitionUK-wide

iX Challenge: Accelerating Digital Engineering Through MBSE Simulation

iX programme, Innovation Exchange, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect

A competition to find innovators who can build a configurable industrial software solution for MBSE simulation within openSPDM. Winners get a chance to pitch and then apply for a grant of up to £60,000 for a 3 month project.

Amount
Up to £60,000
Deadline
Closes 6 November 2026 at 5pm (5 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Closing soonCompetitionUK-wide

iX Challenge: Verified reporting of the value created by defence contracts

iX programme, Innovation Exchange, Innovate UK Business Connect, Innovate UK

A competition for solution providers to capture and verify social value delivery across defence supply chains, with up to £60,000 grant for a 3 month project. Open to businesses including SMEs and start-ups.

Amount
Up to £60,000
Deadline
Closes 6 November 2026 at 5pm (5 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Closing soonCompetitionUK-wide

iX Challenge: Extending protection to personnel travelling in armoured vehicles under drone attack

Innovation Exchange, Innovate UK Business Connect, VSS

VSS is seeking open-innovation solutions to extend blast mitigation protection for personnel in armoured vehicles under drone attack. The winning applicant, selected by VSS, can apply for grant funding for a 3-month project.

Amount
Up to £60,000
Deadline
Closes 6 November 2026 at 5pm (5 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Closing soonCompetitionUK-wide

iX Challenge: Resilient High-Altitude Communications, Navigation and Mission Connectivity for Persistent Autonomous Aircraft

Innovation Exchange, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect

An Innovate UK Innovation Exchange challenge set by Advanced Integrated Technologies Ltd (AiT) seeking resilient communications, navigation and mission-connectivity technologies for a persistent high-altitude autonomous aircraft. Selected solution providers may be invited to apply for a grant of up to £60,000.

Amount
Up to £60,000
Deadline
Closes 6 November 2026 at 5pm (5 days)
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10

Email me more like this

We will email you when new funding appears for a business in North East England, wanting to grow and become more productive.

How often

We send nothing else, and every email has a link to stop. How we use your address

Or save these answers in a free business profile: your alert then follows them whenever you change them.