Business grants and funding in Newcastle

We list 16 schemes for Newcastle businesses: 10 open now, 5 to check with the funder and 1 closed (kept for reference). Last checked .

Also open to Newcastle businesses: 8 UK-wide schemes open now.

Closing soonest

Schemes open to Newcastle businesses (local and UK-wide) with a published closing date.

  1. Climate Tech FOAK Builder: programme entry expression of interest · UK-wide closes
  2. Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1 · UK-wide closes
  3. Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) · UK-wide closes
  4. Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems · UK-wide closes
  5. Growth Cohorts: Next-gen low carbon concrete, Round 2 · UK-wide closes
  6. Full ADOPT Grant: Round 10 (on-farm trials) · UK-wide closes

Open now 10

Open or rolling, according to the official source. Ones with a closing date come first, soonest first.

Rolling

SWEF Enterprise Fund: Start-up Grant

Community Foundation North East · Grant

Up to £500

Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland · Checked

Open

North East Accelerate Fund

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

Open

North East Elevate Fund

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

Open

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II: NEL Smaller Loans

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

Open

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II: NEL Debt Finance

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

Open

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II: Maven Equity Finance

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

Open

Flexible Social Finance

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

Open

North East Property Fund

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

Open

North East Commercial Property Investment Fund

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

Check with the funder 5

The official source does not say clearly whether it is open, so ask the funder before you plan around it.

Check with funder

Business Growth Fund

North East CA, delivered by UMi (UKSPF) · Grant

£20,000–£300,000 discretionary grants (per Invest North East England)

Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland · Checked

Check with funder

Made Smarter Adoption North East

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

Check with funder

The Mayor's Small Venues Fund

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

Check with funder

Culture and Creative Investment Programme

North East CA with Creative UK · Finance plus business support

Combined finance and support package. Amounts: check with funder

North Tyneside, Northumberland, Newcastle · Checked

Check with funder

North East Early Stage Equity Fund

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

Closed (kept for reference) 1

Not taking applications now. Kept so you can see what ran before and watch for new rounds.

Closed

North of Tyne Business Support Fund

NBSL (North East CA, UKSPF) · Grant

Up to 50% of eligible spend on projects costing £3,000–£8,000 (up to £4,000)

Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland · Checked

Quick answers

What business grants are open in Newcastle right now?

We list 16 schemes for Newcastle businesses. 10 are open now, including SWEF Enterprise Fund: Start-up Grant from Community Foundation North East: up to £500; SWEF Enterprise Fund: Business Development Grant from Community Foundation North East: up to £2,000 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, 5 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.

Which funding open to Newcastle businesses closes soonest?

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.

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