UKSPF Expression of interest form guidance

Capital grants from £2,000 to £10,000 are available for up to 50% of the total eligible costs, to purchase capital equipment or to undertake improvements to business premises. 

Grants are not available for any expenditure incurred prior to the approval of the grant funding.

Before completing the expression of interest form, please read the following information to understand whether your project could be eligible.

There are no exceptions made and incomplete or ineligible expressions of interest will be declined.

Location

Businesses must be physically located in the Shropshire Council local authority area (this does not include Telford & Wrekin).

Grant

• For small and medium sized businesses (1 – 49 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees) that have been trading for at least 6 months;
• Grants available of between £2,000 and £10,000;
• Matched investment required by the business of at least 50% of the total investment;
• Outcomes for the investment must relate to at least one of the following: jobs created, new to the firm products, services or processes

Type of business activity

All businesses are invited to apply providing they meet the standard grant requirements provided above unless any of the following exclusions apply.

Applications are not accepted from:

• Public organisations such as town and parish councils
• Voluntary and charitable organisations that do not derive an income from the supply of goods or services
• Regulated or restricted sectors, including gambling, banking / insurance (and other financial services), pornography, mineral extraction and the manufacture of armaments and related systems
• Commercial landlords (when project relates to enhancing their portfolio)
• Businesses that are political in nature or which represent lobby or campaign groups
• Businesses that act exclusively to promote or represent religious or faith-based groups
• Any business that is in current financial distress eg at risk of insolvency, or subject to a pending strike-off from Companies House
• Any business that is in arrears with business or council tax payments or otherwise in legal dispute with Shropshire Council 

Ineligible activity:

• Primary food / timber production or primary food / timber processing where the product remains unrefined (e.g. egg-grading machines or vegetable handling systems)
• Tourism accommodation projects that are: 

1. within properties that are not business-rated
2. converting existing private residential accommodation into holiday lets
3. only improving existing accommodation and not increasing the number of beds / camping berths available  

Ineligible expenditure:

• Day-to-day running costs and any other costs not directly relating to the purchase of capital equipment or improvement to capital assets
• Investment into private residential properties that might increase the value of the property, including outbuildings such as garden offices
• The purchase of sample products or demonstrators
• Software unless integral to the operation of machinery purchased as part of the grant
• Road vehicles 
• Expenditure relating to the fulfilment of statutory obligations
• Replacement of old equipment on a like-for-like basis
• The purchase of equipment that will be fully depreciated within three years, such as standard electrical appliances like monitors and computers
• Leasing, hire purchase or similar arrangements where the equipment does not fall within the direct ownership of the business during the grant funding period, i.e. by 31 March 2025, unless by exception
• Notional expenditure where the business has not incurred any actual expenditure, such as to cover items gifted by company directors.
  

If your expression of interest is accepted and moves to the application stage we will require the following:

Existing businesses:

• Last year’s full set of accounts covering 1 year OR latest self-assessment return
• Figures for current trading year
• Forecast figures for next year
  

New businesses (less than 12 months trading):

• Business plan
• Current financial performance
• Profit and loss and cashflow forecast covering 12 months
  

Equipment:

A number of valid quotes for each piece of equipment (£500+ in value) depending on value, as detailed here, supported by your minimum specification:

• Individual equipment with value below £24,999: 2 formal quotations required
• Individual equipment with value between £25,000 - £200,000: 3 formal quotations required

Before completing the expression of interest form, please ensure that you have read all the information on this page to confirm that you are eligible to apply. There are no exceptions made and incomplete or ineligible expressions of interest will be declined.

Please complete the online EOI form ONLY if you believe that your project / investment proposal meets the above criteria. All EOI’s submitted will be checked against the criteria and submitting incomplete or ineligible EOIs only has the effect of slowing the potential award of funds to all applicants. Submissions flagged as potentially fraudulent could be subject to further investigation. 

The delivery of the fund will reflect the demand for funds and the finite capacity available to administer it, and therefore the windows providing you with an opportunity to apply are likely to open and close at short notice. All information to this effect will be posted on this webpage.

For future reference, please note that the full application form must be submitted in Word document or PDF format only. Handwritten application forms will not be accepted.