Grants
Grants often appear to be the most attractive route to funding development as, in general, they do not dilute ownership or increase debt. They are often described as ‘soft’ money as opposed to ‘hard’ sources of finance that have to be repaid or lead to dilution of ownership.
However, Grants may have a number of commercial disadvantages:
- There may be a significant time lag between applying for and receiving the funds
- The application process may take up valuable management time
- The Grant may cover only part of the funding sought and some ‘match’ funding on behalf of the company may be required
- There may be restrictions associated with the Grant that may have commercial implications
- Repayment may be required under certain circumstances
- The awarding body will be required to audit closely the use of the money
Grants are available for a variety of uses, those focussed on engineering development are described here and can be divided into two main categories:
More general information can be found through:
- Business Link
- LINK
- www.j4b.co.uk - Guidance on Sources of Funding
- www.grantfinder.com - Subscription Based Service
- www.grantnet.com - Free & Focused on SMEs
