Are you looking for new commercial premises in Gloucester for your new business?
Do you need financial assistance to make this happen?
Do you wish to benefit from free professional business advice and support?
If the answer to these questions is yes, you may be eligible for financial support through the City Council's Gloucester Means Business Grant Scheme.
What will the Scheme offer?
A. Business Start-up Grants
A 50% rent grant towards your first year’s basic rent on commercial premises within the City of Gloucester for new businesses, which have either moved into their property in Gloucester within the last 6 months or are taking up a vacant unit in the city.
The scheme will provide a 50% rent grant towards the first year basic rent for the following categories:
A maximum of £2,500 per business for businesses occupying or proposing to occupy ground floor premises within the Primary Retail Area
A maximum of £1,000 for those occupying or proposing to occupy non-ground floor premises within the Primary Retail Area
A maximum of £1,000 per business for citywide businesses occupying or proposing to occupy premises outside of the Primary Retail Area
A maximum of £1,000 per business for those who have signed a minimum 12 month license (with no break clause) wherever in the city the business premises are located
B. Business Information and Support Grants
A £100 grant for Business Information and Support, which is available for businesses based in the City of Gloucester that have been established for between 1 and 5 years.
The grant will reimburse applicants the sum of up to £100 for business information and support. This must be from a recognised provider of the applicant’s choice, and the City Council will provide the applicant with a list of potential providers.
The grant will be paid upon provision of evidence (in the form of receipted invoices from the relevant provider) showing the business has spent £100 or more on qualifying business information and support.
Will my business be eligible?
A. Business Start-up grants
In order for your business to qualify for the Grant Scheme it must meet some basic criteria:
the business must be:
A start-up business or within the first year of trading and located within the administrative district of the City of Gloucester
AND
Have entered, or be prepared to enter, into a lease agreement that requires the payment of rent, or a licence agreement that is for a minimum term of 12 months (with no break clause within the first 12 months).
in addition, businesses must:
Be sole traders, partnerships, co-operatives or limited companies.
Have good employment growth prospects.
Normally be engaged in activities providing jobs within the retail sector or providing higher value and/or graduate level jobs or be of significant community benefit e.g. advanced engineering including aerospace; ICT and new media; creative industries; environmental technologies; services to industry; community enterprises.
Employ no more than 150 full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees at the time of application.
Be proposing to occupy a property or have previously occupied one within the last 6 months that is either commercial, retail or office.
b. business information and support grants
In order for your business to qualify for the Grant Scheme the business must be:
A business within the administrative district of the City of Gloucester that has been established for between 1 and 5 years.
A sole trader, partnership, co-operative or limited company.
Normally engaged in activities providing jobs within the retail sector or providing higher value and/or graduate level jobs or be of significant community benefit e.g. advanced engineering including aerospace; ICT and new media; creative industries; environmental technologies; services to industry; community enterprises.
Employ no more than 150 full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees at the time of application.
How do I apply?
a. business start-up grants
If you believe your business is eligible for a grant, please download the scheme's Application Notes| and Expression of Interest Form| . If you have any queries or wish to request a hard copy of these documents please contact us by email (eds@gloucester.gov.uk|) or call 01452 396986 or 396972.
Once you have read the Application Notes and completed your Expression of Interest form, send this, together with a copy of your Business Plan, in to the address at the bottom of the form.
The information you provide will be circulated to the Grant Review Panel, who will review the information contained in the Expression of Interest form and the Business Plan and based on this make a recommendation to the Economic Development Service as to whether a full grant application pack should be sent out. The Review Panel comprises professionals from the Fredericks Foundation, Gloucestershire Enterprise Ltd, and the Commercial Business Banking sector on a rotational basis.
Following a positive recommendation from the panel the Economic Development Service will forward an application pack to the applicant.
Reviews that result in negative recommendations will not proceed to the next stage of receiving an application pack. Instead the panel will suggest areas of support to be offered to applicant.
Following a positive recommendation from the panel the Economic Development Service will forward an Application Form to the applicant who will need to fully and accurately complete it and return it to the Economic Development Service along with the following documentation:
- A copy of the company's Equal Opportunities Policy
- A copy of the company's Environmental Policy
- A signed copy of the SME declaration
- A copy of the completed City Council Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
The application pack will also contain a Bank Reference Form, which is an instruction to the company’s bank manager authorising them to give Gloucester City Council a bank reference (including Sort Code and Account Number). Applicants need to complete this form and then send it to their bank, rather than return it to the council. Payments of grant will be made by bank transfer into the confirmed business account.
The decision to award the grant will rest with the Economic Development Service, with awards being granted based on applications satisfactorily demonstrating that they meet the outlined criteria, conditions, information requests and scheme priorities.
The Economic Development Service's decision is final.
B. business information and support grants
If you believe your business is eligible for a grant, please download the scheme's Application Notes| and Expression of Interest Form| . If you have any queries or wish to request a hard copy of these documents please contact us by email (eds@gloucester.gov.uk|) or call 01452 396986 or 396972.
Once you have read the Application Notes and completed your Expression of Interest form, you will need to send this to the address on the form.
The Economic Development Service will register your interest and forward a list of potential providers of business advice. This will not be an exclusive list from which applicants must choose, though advice for which grant funding is applied for must be obtained from a recognised provider.
The Economic Development Service will also forward a Bank Reference Form, which is request to the company’s bank manager authorising the bank to provide the Economic Development Service with a bank reference confirming account details/status, which is needed for audit purposes. Applicants need to complete this form and send it to their bank rather than return it to the City Council. Payments of grant will be made by bank transfer into the confirmed business account.
The applicant must arrange and pay for the information and support from their chosen provider in the first instance, and the City Council will reimburse the costs up to £100 upon provision of receipted invoices from the provider (and once the status of the business bank account has been confirmed as above).
All applicants should note that the Grant Scheme is subject to availability and funding and applications will be considered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
The decision to award the grant will rest with the Economic Development Service, with awards being granted based on applications satisfactorily demonstrating that they meet the outlined criteria, conditions, information requests and scheme priorities.
The Economic Development Service's decision is final.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided through the Gloucester Means Business Grant Scheme is for general information purposes only. Gloucester City Council makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to information, products, services, mentioned by other organisations for any purpose. Through the grant application process you will be signposted to other organisations or their websites which are not under the control of Gloucester City Council. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will the City Council be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising out of, or in connection with, the information provided by any other organisations whom grant applicants contact.
Last Modified: Wednesday 21 March 2012