Open to businesses in Tees Valley, including schemes for the wider region and the whole country.
Tees Valley's page: people to ring, events nearby and what is only for Tees Valley
UK Steel Enterprise
Business loans from UKSE for businesses in steel areas, at fixed interest rates: unsecured loans of up to £200,000 for a growing business, or up to £100,000 for a new one, and secured loans.
UK Steel Enterprise
Equity investment from UKSE for businesses in steel areas: up to £1 million on a first round for a growing business, or up to £250,000 for a new one. UKSE takes only minority stakes and rarely asks for personal guarantees.
Tees Valley Combined Authority, Tees Valley Creates
A support service listed by Tees Valley Combined Authority for established businesses, social enterprises and start-ups in the creative, cultural, digital and tech sectors, with help on finance and funding, business planning and networking.
SWEF
Grants of up to £500 for pre-revenue businesses or up to £2,000 for established businesses, for young people aged 18–30 living in County Durham or Tees Valley.
Tees Valley Combined Authority
From 2027, BICS will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for eligible manufacturing businesses in the Industrial Strategy's growth sectors and foundational manufacturing industries that meet the relevant electricity intensity threshold. It also exempts eligible businesses from paying the indirect costs of the renewables obligation, capacity market and feed-in tariff.
Mercia
Mercia Capital, a specialist asset manager, provides equity investments, typically from £100,000 to £2 million, to growing regional businesses at start-up or scale-up stage that cannot be fully funded through conventional borrowing.
Business Enterprise Fund
Government-backed Start-up Loans of up to £25,000 with 12 months of free mentoring, delivered by Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) as an approved delivery partner for the Government's Start Up Loans scheme. Aimed at founders who may struggle to access conventional finance.
NEL Fund Managers
NEL's funds invest in ambitious growing businesses with a finance gap from £25,000, investing up to £2m, and can form part of a larger funding round with other investors.
Mercia
Mercia is a specialist asset manager providing venture, private equity and debt finance to growing regional businesses across the North East and Tees Valley. Its equity investments are typically from £100,000 to £2 million.
Business Enterprise Fund
Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) is a not-for-profit social enterprise providing flexible loans to SMEs across the North East and Yorkshire when mainstream lenders cannot fully assist. Start-up loans range from £500 to £25,000, and unsecured growth loans go up to £250,000.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mercia Ventures
Equity investment of £50,000 to £1 million in innovative, early stage companies from start-up to scale-up stages.
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.
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.
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.
Key Fund
Grants and loans for social enterprises in the North and the Midlands.
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.
Sunderland Software City
Helps founders understand and access grants, funding and investment, run by Sunderland Software City.
North East Fund, Northstar Ventures
Equity investment in companies spinning out from Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities to commercialise research and innovation.
Sir James Knott Fund
Funding for charitable activity in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Hartlepool.