Grant for Business Investment
Financial incentives are available across Kent and Medway under the Grant for Business Investment (GBI) scheme. This replaced the Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE) scheme in October 2008.
The GBI scheme aims to assist businesses to increase productivity by funding capital investment in equipment and technology. It is for businesses looking to expand, modernise, rationalise, diversify and increase productivity in order to maintain or establish sustainable growth and provide skilled jobs.
All grants are paid in arrears, in instalments against expenditure already paid away. The grants are not upfront payments.
Grant Amounts
Grant amount is entirely at SEEDA's discretion and is dependent on size of the enterprise, the location of the proposal, eligible project expenditure, number of jobs created or secured, job skill levels and project quality up to the maximum grant percentages in that location. There is no automatic entitlement.
In all cases the minimum grant award is £10,000 (e.g. if the grant award is 15% of eligible costs, then eligible expenditure needs to be at least £67,000). All grants are paid in instalments, in arrears, upon achievement of the agreed milestones, skilled job numbers and productivity increase targets.
Area entitlement
It is the project address which determines your area and grant entitlement (see map below).
- Tier 2 - Large corporates and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply in Thanet (all 23 wards) and 3 wards in Dover (Eastry, Sandwich and Whitfield).
- Tier 3 - Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply across the rest of Kent and Medway
To check which ward your business is located in please use the following postcode checker: National Statistics Website.
Tier 2 Assisted Areas | Grant Amount |
Small Enterprises | Up to 35% of eligible project costs |
Medium Enterprises | Up to 25% of eligible project costs |
Large Enterprises | Up to 15% of eligible project costs |
Tier 3 Assisted Areas | Grant Amount |
Small Enterprises | Up to 20% of eligible project costs |
Medium Enterprises | Up to 10% of eligible project costs |
Eligible project costs
Grants are awarded as a percentage of eligible project costs. The costs covered are at the discretion of SEEDA, but could include:
- Equipment and machinery;
- Building refurbishment, fit-out and new build costs;
- New lease or mortgage interest costs for the project period + 3 years for SMEs or 5 years for large enterprises;
- Some intangible assets may also be eligible.
- 2 years wage costs of some key, skilled jobs created directly as a result of the project.
Please note: for equipment and machinery acquired under a lease, the financial lease should include an obligation to purchase the asset when the lease expires.
There may also be additional aid available for:
- Start up businesses owned and actively managed by female entrepreneurs;
- Training and Research and Development activities in Tier 2 areas.
What is not eligible?
Most sectors of industry are eligible for support; however there are some exceptions:
- the European Commission restricts aid to certain sectors such as the steel industry, coal, synthetic fibres, primary agriculture, fisheries and shipbuilding;
- Charitable organisations (unless of a commercial nature);
- Education sector (Schools/Colleges) and Hospital projects;
- Areas of the UK economy which are already fully served as they would lead to overcapacity and displacement of jobs;
- Projects which offer purely a local consumer-type service, for example retail or restaurants, would be considered ineligible.
Proposals to move premises, with little expenditure on capital equipment (other than fit-out costs) are very unlikely to obtain a grant in Tier 3. There may be exceptions to this in Tier 2, dependent entirely upon SEEDA's view of the proposal
GBI is a national scheme with strict sets of criteria. Grant applications are assessed by SEEDA and selected entirely at our discretion on an individual basis against the Regional Economic Strategy, the grant criteria, and value for money to the public purse. There is no automatic entitlement.
South East Grant Advisory Service, (Se-gas) offers free grant advice and assistance to companies looking to relocate to or expand in Kent and Medway. Se-gas' funding is managed by Locate in Kent.
Please contact Locate in Kent for the latest information on SFIE in Kent and Medway, call 01732 520700.
