We list 17 schemes for County Durham businesses: 13 open now, 3 to check with the funder and 1 closed (kept for reference). Last checked .
Also open to County Durham businesses: 8 UK-wide schemes open now.
Schemes open to County Durham businesses (local and UK-wide) with a published closing date.
Open or rolling, according to the official source. Ones with a closing date come first, soonest first.
Durham County Council · Grant and interest-free loan
Targeted Business Improvement Grant, Property Reuse interest-free loan, Meanwhile Uses Grant. Amounts: check with funder
County Durham · Checked
Point North · Grant
£500 start-up grant or £2,000 business grant
County Durham, Tees Valley, Gateshead, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside · Checked
North East Fund, managed by Mercia Ventures · Equity / convertible loan
Initial £50,000–£350,000, up to £1m in total
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham · Checked
North East Fund, managed by FW Capital · Loan / mixed loan-equity
Loans from £50,000, up to £1m for established businesses
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham · Checked
NEL Fund Managers (British Business Bank NPIF II) · Loan
£25,000–£100,000 (per Review North)
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham, Tees Valley · Checked
NEL Fund Managers (British Business Bank NPIF II) · Loan
£100,000–£2m (per Review North)
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham, Tees Valley · Checked
Maven Capital Partners (British Business Bank NPIF II) · Equity
Up to £5m (per Review North). Check with funder.
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham, Tees Valley · Checked
Durham County Council, managed by Maven · Debt and equity
Investment range: check with funder (from £150,000 per Review North)
County Durham · Checked
North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (lead delivery partner: Northumberland County Council) · Fully funded advice
Fully funded specialist advice, training and peer-to-peer learning, backed by £8.5m from the Mayor. Check with funder.
Northumberland, County Durham, Gateshead · Checked
Business Durham / Durham County Council · Fully funded advice
One-to-one engagement, action plans and productivity interventions (no cash amount)
County Durham · Checked
Big Issue Invest (North East Mayoral Strategic Authority area) · Loan
£30,000–£400,000, repayable over 1 to 7 years. Interest rate negotiated, depending on affordability.
County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland · Checked
FW Capital (backed by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority) · Loan
Loans from £250,000 to £2m for residential and non-speculative commercial developments, up to 100% of build costs, repayment terms up to two years. £20m fund.
County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland · Checked
FW Capital (backed by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority) · Loan
Loans from £1m to £7m for speculative and non-speculative commercial developments, up to 100% of build costs, repayment terms up to five years. £35m fund.
County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland · Checked
The official source does not say clearly whether it is open, so ask the funder before you plan around it.
Made Smarter with North East Growth Hub and Tees Valley CA · Grant plus support
Up to £3,500 for technical advice. Up to £20,000 (max 50% of cost) for software or equipment
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham, Tees Valley · Checked
North East Mayoral Strategic Authority · Grant (revenue and capital)
Grants from £3,000 to £100,000 (£2.2m fund over three years)
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham · Checked
North East Fund, managed by Mercia Regional Ventures · Equity
£35m fund. Deal sizes: check with funder
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham · Checked
Not taking applications now. Kept so you can see what ran before and watch for new rounds.
UMi · Grant
Previously £10,000–£200,000 (per Invest North East England)
County Durham · Checked
We list 17 schemes for County Durham businesses. 13 are open now, including Grants and loans for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in County Durham from Durham County Council; SWEF Business Grant (County Durham & Tees Valley) from Point North: £500 start-up grant or £2,000 business grant and North East Accelerate Fund from North East Fund, managed by Mercia Ventures: initial £50,000–£350,000, up to £1m in total. Of the others, 3 to check with the funder and 1 closed, kept for reference. Each listing links to the official source and shows the date we last checked it, so confirm the details with the funder before you apply.
Climate Tech FOAK Builder: programme entry expression of interest (UK-wide) closes 5 Nov 2026; Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1 (UK-wide) closes 11 Nov 2026; Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) (UK-wide) closes 13 Nov 2026 and Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems (UK-wide) closes 18 Nov 2026. Deadlines are taken from the official source; times and late changes are on the funder's page.
