Sunderland Business Support Fund
NBSL (North East Mayoral Strategic Authority) · Grant
Up to 40% of eligible spend on projects costing £3,000–£6,000 excluding VAT (a maximum grant of £2,400)
Sunderland · Checked
Business grants and funding in Sunderland
We list 15 schemes for Sunderland businesses: 11 open now and 4 to check with the funder. Last checked .
Also open to Sunderland businesses: 8 UK-wide schemes open now.
Closing soonest
Schemes open to Sunderland businesses (local and UK-wide) with a published closing date.
- Climate Tech FOAK Builder: programme entry expression of interest · UK-wide closes
- Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1 · UK-wide closes
- Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) · UK-wide closes
- Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems · UK-wide closes
- Growth Cohorts: Next-gen low carbon concrete, Round 2 · UK-wide closes
- Full ADOPT Grant: Round 10 (on-farm trials) · UK-wide closes
Open now 11
Open or rolling, according to the official source. Ones with a closing date come first, soonest first.
SWEF Enterprise Fund: Start-up Grant
Community Foundation North East · Grant
Up to £500
Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland · Checked
SWEF Enterprise Fund: Business Development Grant
Community Foundation North East · Grant
Up to £2,000
Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland · Checked
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 4
The official source does not say clearly whether it is open, so ask the funder before you plan around it.
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
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
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
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
Quick answers
What business grants are open in Sunderland right now?
We list 15 schemes for Sunderland businesses. 11 are open now, including Sunderland Business Support Fund from NBSL (North East Mayoral Strategic Authority); SWEF Enterprise Fund: Start-up Grant from Community Foundation North East: up to £500 and SWEF Enterprise Fund: Business Development Grant from Community Foundation North East: up to £2,000. Of the others, 4 to check with the funder. 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 Sunderland 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.