Updated 31 October 2026
Grants and funding for manufacturers
Schemes open today that name manufacturers in their published criteria, or fund the kind of work manufacturers do. Read from the funders' own pages and re-checked daily.
18 open today. Whether your business qualifies for any of them depends on your legal form, your size, your age and where you are, which is what the check does.
Which of these can you actually get?
Enter your company number. We read each funder’s own page against your business and tell you which fit, which do not, and why.
Check my businessWhat kind of funding these are
- Grants
- 12
- Loans
- 2
- Tax reliefs
- 2
- In-kind and free support
- 1
- Mixed
- 1
A grant is money you keep. A tax relief lowers a bill rather than arriving as cash. In-kind support is training, credits or expert time instead of money. Loans and equity have to be paid back or bought back, and are worth treating as a different decision entirely.
Who can apply
Every one of these has published criteria. Across the 18, the conditions that come up most are that you must:
- work in a named sector12 of 18
- be under a headcount limit7 of 18
- be a particular kind of organisation4 of 18
- be under a turnover limit3 of 18
- be at a particular stage2 of 18
Which of them you meet depends on your legal form, size, age and where you are registered. That is what the check reads for you, scheme by scheme, and it quotes the funder’s own sentence beside each answer.
What the money is for
- Equipment 8
- Business growth 6
- Manufacturing 5
- Research and development 5
- Premises 4
- Net zero and decarbonisation 4
- Innovation and new products 3
- Low emission vehicles 3
How to apply
You apply to the funder, never to us. Every scheme above links straight to its own page, and that page is the only thing that decides whether you get it.
Before you spend an afternoon on a form, three things are worth checking: that you are inside the deadline — 3 of these close within the month; that you have not already started or paid for the work, which a great many grants refuse; and that you can fund the share they expect you to.
Most refusals are not close calls. They are a rule the applicant never saw, in a sentence on the funder’s own page.
Where else to look
The government publishes its own list, free, and you should use it. What is above is wider than that list, because it also holds council schemes, tax reliefs and in-kind support that Find a Grant does not carry — but if you only want a list, start there.
Find a grant, on GOV.UKThe 18 open today
Grant
DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund Drawdown 5
Innovate UK
Up to£20,000,000
A competition offering grants to UK registered organisations that want to build or convert pilot-scale or demonstration-scale manufacturing facilities for zero emission vehicle technologies and their supply chain. Grant requests must sit between £2.5 million and £20 million, with total eligible project costs above £5 million, and applicants must show they can unlock private co-investment worth at least twice the grant. Projects are expected to start from 1 June 2027 and finish by 31 March 2030.
Closes 4 November 2026The funder’s page
Loan
Midlands Engine Investment Fund II – Debt Fund
Department for Business and Trade
Up to£2,000,000
A flexible debt fund providing loans between £100,000 and £2 million to established SMEs trading business to business across the East and West Midlands, to support growth plans such as working capital, asset purchase, product development, new staff and marketing. It cannot be used to refinance existing debt.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
National Space Innovation Programme - Call 3
UK Space Agency
Up to£2,000,000
A co-funded grant programme from the UK Space Agency supporting UK-based space R&D projects, split into two strands: Kick Starter for early-stage disruptive innovation (TRL 1-4) and Major Projects for near-commercial work (TRL 5-9). Up to £20 million is available across roughly 15-30 grants, awarded through a two-stage outline-then-full-proposal process.
Closes 12 November 2026The funder’s page
Mixed
Equity and Loan fund in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Up to£1,000,000
A £10 million investment fund offering equity and loan finance to advanced manufacturing and materials businesses in Greater Manchester. Equity investments range from £20,000 to £50,000, and loans are available from £250,000 up to £1 million.
RollingThe funder’s page
Loan
Regional Growth Loan Scheme - East of England
The FSE Group
Up to£500,000
A loan scheme run by The FSE Group offering growth finance to established SMEs across the East of England. Loans range from £50,000 to £500,000 for businesses with turnover of at least £100,000 and a clear plan for significant growth.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) Manufacturing Grants
Flintshire County Council
Up to£300,000
Capital grants of £5,000 to £100,000 per award, up to £300,000 in total across three project types, to help small and medium manufacturing businesses in Flintshire buy equipment, gain accreditation or adapt premises for decarbonisation. Delivered through the Business Support strand of the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone, with a minimum 30% match contribution required from the business.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
Innovation Boost
InterTradeIreland
Up to£56,000
Innovation Boost is a grant from InterTradeIreland that pays for academic expertise and a project manager to help manufacturing and tradable services SMEs on the island of Ireland run new product/service or process-improvement projects. It covers 100% of academic partner costs and 50% of a dedicated project manager's cost, up to £56,000 over 18 months or £39,000 over 12 months.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
Made Smarter Adoption - East of England
Made Smarter Adoption Programme (East of England)
Up to£20,000
Made Smarter Adoption in the East of England helps small and medium manufacturing businesses in Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire develop a digital transformation roadmap, then access grant funding of up to £20,000 (50% match funded), alongside fully funded leadership, workforce development and internship support.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
Made Smarter Adoption Programme
Made Smarter
Up to£20,000
Made Smarter is a national digital-adoption programme for small and medium-sized manufacturers, delivered regionally across most of England. It offers impartial digital technology advice, workshops and, in most regions, match-funded grants of up to £20,000 towards hardware and software.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
AD:VENTURE Growth Grant
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Up to£5,000
AD:VENTURE's Growth Grant offers West Yorkshire SMEs £1,500 to £5,000, covering up to 50% of eligible capital project costs, for growth investment such as equipment and IT. It is paid in arrears after the applicant has joined the AD:VENTURE programme and worked with a Business Manager on a diagnostic and action plan.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
Plug-in Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Grant
Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV)
Up to£2,500
A government grant that reduces the purchase price of new electric wheelchair accessible vehicles, applied as a discount by the seller. Claims are made by vehicle dealerships and manufacturers through an online portal, not by the end customer. The discount is 35% of the price up to a maximum of £2,500 per eligible vehicle, and the base vehicle must cost under £50,000.
Closes 5 April 2027The funder’s page
Grant
2445: DRIVE35: Scale Up Fund
Innovate UK
Innovate UK, with the Department for Business and Trade and the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, is offering grants from a £150 million pot to help build scale up manufacturing capacity for zero emission vehicle technologies in the UK. Single businesses and collaborations can apply, but the lead must be a UK registered business. The opportunity opened in June 2026 and has no stated closing date; full details sit on the Innovation Funding Service.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Strategic Programme
Department for Business and Trade, Innovate UK (UKRI) and the Aerospace Technology Institute
A grant programme funding industrial research and technology development to maintain and grow the UK's competitive position in civil aerospace. It is a two-stage competition open to UK-registered businesses of any size, run in partnership between government, Innovate UK and the ATI.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund drawdown five
Innovate UK
Innovate UK, with BIST and the Advanced Propulsion Centre, is offering grants from a fund of up to £150 million to help build scale-up manufacturing capacity for zero emission vehicle technologies. UK registered organisations can apply, either alone or in collaboration, and the lead of any collaboration must be a UK registered business. Applications close on 4 November 2026 and full details sit on the Innovation Funding Service.
Closes 4 November 2026The funder’s page
In-kind support
Fit To Bid
Department for Business and Trade
A fully-funded programme of workshops and 1:1 advice delivered by Brandiun Business Support Ltd to help small and medium-sized London businesses win contracts with Tier 1 suppliers, including a bid capability assessment and tendering guidance.
RollingThe funder’s page
Tax relief
Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone - tax site incentives
Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone
A package of tax reliefs for eligible advanced manufacturing businesses occupying one of the three designated Investment Zone tax sites in Flintshire and Wrexham (Wrexham, Deeside and Warren Hall). The package includes business rates relief, enhanced capital allowances, a structures and buildings allowance, employer National Insurance relief and Land Transaction Tax relief.
RollingThe funder’s page
Grant
Great British Energy (GBE) Supply Chain Fund: Offshore Wind and Networks
Great British Energy
A capital grant fund of up to £300 million to expand UK manufacturing capacity for components that are in short supply in the offshore wind and electricity networks sectors. Grants must pay for building new manufacturing facilities or extending existing ones in the UK, and the finished project must mainly produce one or more of the listed 'Critical Components'. Applications are assessed in rounds, with the window closing on 10 December 2026 unless the budget runs out sooner.
Closes 10 December 2026The funder’s page
Tax relief
UK Investment Zones Tax Site Incentives
Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
Businesses investing in one of 13 UK Investment Zones get access to a 10-year package of tax reliefs on designated sites plus support for skills, infrastructure and innovation. On designated tax sites this includes full Stamp Duty Land Tax relief, zero-rate employer National Insurance on new employees' earnings up to £25,000 a year for 36 months, a 100% first-year capital allowance on plant and machinery, an enhanced structures and buildings allowance, and full business rates relief for eligible new or expanding businesses.
RollingThe funder’s page