Renée’s July round-up of business funding and grant sources

Before I share details of all the grants and business funding that is available, did you know that 280 years ago this July, the first ever recorded women’s cricket match took place on Gosden Common near Guildford between the eleven maids of Bramley and the eleven maids of Hambledon. Apparently, it drew a large crowd and was reported in several newspapers.

The Sage Small Business XI 2025 Grant is linked to their sponsorship of The Hundred, the British cricket tournament that has taken off in the last few years and which is leading the way in giving women’s and men’s sport equal billing.

Part of the prize on offer is the chance to get promoted at one of the games which are broadcast live on TV. Now, you might be a cricket fan and the idea of your company being advertised over the hoardings at the Oval sounds like a dream come true, but how many of your potential customers are also cricket fans? Start thinking about the marketing opportunities on offer and how they might be just as beneficial as £10k.

By the way, if you haven’t been to The Hundred, go! Not only are the Surrey based Oval Invincibles the current men’s holders, but it’s also a great day out!

Good Luck and let me know how you get on!

Renée

Sage Small Business XI 2025

Are your potential customers cricket fans? Sage is giving away a total of £50k in business grants to 11 deserving small businesses plus in stadium branding at one local The Hundred Cricket Match and 2 x tickets to The Hundred Final.

The competition is open to all UK residents aged 18 or over who are an owner of a small business, charity or not-for-profit that’s been trading for a year that has fewer than 50 employees.

Closing date: 12:00pm on Monday 7th July

Apply here: Sage x The Hundred | Small Business Competition | Enter to Win

Santander X UK Awards

The Santander X UK Awards is Santander’s flagship entrepreneurship pitching competition. The competition has evolved to supporting 3 categories: university entrepreneurs, start-ups and a new SME category added for 2025.

Their aim is to award equity-free funding with prizes of between £10-30,000 and support for ambitious UK founders to take their ventures to the next level.

Closing Date: 16 July at 23.59

Apply here: Santander X UK Awards

Adobe Express £1,000 Grant

From now until August, 2 business owners a month will win £1,000 and mentoring from Adobe Express and Enterprise Nation.

All you have to do is share a creation you have made by using the templates in Adobe Express. It could be a social post, flyer or logo for your brand, upload it and complete the application for to be in with a chance of winning.

Closing date: until August 2025

Apply here: Adobe Express Brand Builder | Win £1,000 for your marketing strategy

Future Leaders Fellowships

Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) support talented people in universities, businesses, and other research and innovation environments.

They also allow universities, research institutes, independent research organisations and businesses to develop their most talented early career researchers and innovators or to attract new people to their organisations.

The aim of this competition is to:

Support ambitious research and innovation to tackle difficult and novel challenges.

Support excellence in innovation, across interdisciplinary boundaries and sectors.

Develop, retain, and attract the next wave of research and innovation leaders.

Working with a host organisation a Future Leaders Fellow will receive at least four years of funding to pursue an ambitious programme of innovation.

Closing date: 5 November 2025 at 11am.

More information can be accessed at the IUK website.

RTO Catapult Grant Scheme – Innovate UK

Launched in April this is an easy to access, easy to administer grant from Innovate UK for £15,000. Apply quickly as the pot ran out by September last year when launched at a similar time. Could be used for product testing, development work or if you need technical expertise to facilitate feasibility.

Closing date: when the £ is all allocated

Apply here: Exploit innovation – Innovate UK Business Growth

The UK Games Fund Content Fund

The fund offers financial support to UK-based independent studios developing commercial games-for-entertainment. Backed by the UK Government, the initiative aims to help companies scale up, attract investment and generate employment in the creative industries.

Grants will range from £50,000 to £150,000. The funding can be used to cover staff and contractor costs directly involved in hands-on development activity.

The scheme targets established games studios operating in the UK. Applicants must be able to demonstrate how the funding would provide clear additionality to their business growth plans and facilitate further investment.

Closing date: expressions of interest can be made at any time

Apply here: Home – Content Fund

Greener Homes Alliance Development Loans

Homes England and Octopus Real Estate have launched the second phase of the Greener Homes Alliance, providing discounted development finance to small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders. The initiative supports the construction of energy-efficient homes across England.

A total of £150 million is available. Loans range from £2 million to £20 million. Interest rate reductions of up to 2% are available for developers meeting environmental and social criteria. Eligible applicants include SME housebuilders and developers operating in England.

Closing date: Applications can be made at any time

Apply here: Greener Homes Alliance | Octopus Capital

Co-operative Enterprise Loans

Co-operative and Community Finance is offering loans of between £10,000 and £85,000 for new or existing co-operatives across the UK to assist with the expansion, setup, or development of a co-operative enterprise.  

Loans will only be made to economically viable enterprises that are democratically owned and controlled organisations registered in the UK.

Closing date: Applications can be made at any time

Apply here: Co-op Loan Fund – Unique lending: to co-ops, from co-ops

Surrey Hills Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) Grants

The Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme provides grants to farmers and land managers in the Surrey Hills for one-off projects to make improvements to the natural environment, climate change mitigation, cultural heritage and public access on their land.

Closing date: March 2026

Apply here: Surrey Hills Farming in Protected Landscapes FiPL

The Workplace Charging Scheme

The Workplace Charging Scheme provides support for organisations towards the cost of installing up to 40 electric vehicle chargepoint sockets at their sites.

The scheme covers up to 75% of the total costs of the purchase and installation of EV chargepoints (including VAT), capped at a maximum of:

£350 per socket

40 sockets across all sites per applicant – for instance, if you want to install them at 40 sites, you will have 1 socket available per site

All chargepoints must be installed by an OZEV authorised installer.

Closing Date: 31^st March 2026

Apply here: Before you start –

Further business support in Surrey

If there isn’t anything in this month’s roundup that suits your business’s specific needs, check out our Support Directory, or contact our team of experts via our Business Support Form.