The government has launched two additional measures to help start ups and SMEs doing R&D navigate the covid-19 crisis.
This blog was updated 20th May to reflect the detail of the scheme which was not fully established at launch.
The Future Fund will be delivered with the British Business Bank.
Your business is eligible if:
- it is UK-incorporated – if your business is part of a corporate group, only the parent company is eligible
- it has raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third-party investors in the last 5 years
- none of its shares are traded on a regulated market, multilateral trading facility or other listing venue
- it was incorporated on or before 31 December 2019
- at least one of the following is true:
- half or more employees are UK-based
- half or more revenues are from UK sales
You can check your eligibility here.
Extra £550 million
Existing grant and loan payments will be brought forward on an opt in basis.
The release also mentions support for companies not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding. It mentions 1,200 firms, I would assume these are either unsuccessful applicants or companies where funding has ended. But like much of the detail this is not clear. It mentions £175,000 of support.
Conclusions.
These are welcome measures. But the pace of announcements at present do mean proposals are being spun out that are not fully formed.
Please check our covid-19 help page for details on the full range of support available.
The relationship between state aid grants and loans is relatively complicated. You should discuss these with your R&D specialist before taking any of this funding to understand the impacts.