The Falkirk Growth Fund is available to help businesses meet plans for growth and is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The Fund can provide grants from £1,000 up to a maximum of £25,000 (50% of project expenditure, minimum project spend £2,000) to businesses located within the Falkirk Council area.

This fund aims to provide a financial contribution towards business growth projects which will bring economic benefit to the area by way of increased employment and turnover.

Examples of expenditure include:

• Purchase of new equipment, plant and machinery
• Property expansion or improvements for the direct use of the business leading to increased turnover and growth. Routine property repairs or maintenance are not an eligible cost. Speculative property development for the purpose of sub letting  is not an eligible activity.  
• Development of new products, services and processes (external costs)
• Training relating to an investment and market development (external costs)
• Exhibiting at a trade exhibition (first time attendance) or attending an overseas trade mission:
  • cost of stand or fee for joining the trade mission
  • accommodation costs capped at £200 per night and max of 2 people. Number of nights should be in proportion to the length of time of the exhibition
  • travel costs capped at standard travel rates and for max of 2 people
  • Merchandise - capped at £1,000

The grant cannot be used towards employee wages, vehicles, general purchase of stock or routine maintenance.

Location

Applicant organisations must be operating, located and trading from within the Falkirk Council area.

Bank account

The business must have a dedicated business bank account (you will be required to provide the account details as part of the application process and this is the account your grant will be paid into if successful).

Size

Business must be classified as a Small Medium Enterprise (SME) – Less than 250 employees and turnover less than £45 million.

Debt

Business must not be in any debt to the council eg Business rate arrears.

Full time

The business must be operated on a full-time basis and provide full-time employment for at least one person.

Premises

The business must operate from commercial premises within the Falkirk Council area, for which they either own or there is a signed lease/rental /licence agreement in place.

Solvent

At the time of submitting the application, the business cannot be in bankruptcy, liquidation or similar.

Must be trading a minimum of 6 months (Applicant business must have been receiving sales income for at least 6 months).

Previous grants

A business can access one of each Council business  grants in the period 01 April 2025 – 31 March 2026 (ie one of each the following grants  - Digital Development Fund, Energy Efficiency Fund, Growth Fund).

If a business has previously received a Growth Fund they can receive another one provided they have met the employment milestones forecast in their previous application.  

The following sectors are not eligible to apply:

• professional services such as lawyers, dentists, vets, doctors, accountants
• business that are required to be regulated by the FCA such as credit unions, money lenders
• business involved in gambling, religion or the sex industry
• third sector businesses – community groups, not for profit organisations, voluntary or charitable organisations (except social enterprises)
• any business that may bring the council into disrepute
• retail - applications from the retail sector cannot be considered unless the business can demonstrate that they are servicing more than a local market. This means they are attracting customers from outwith the Falkirk area and are providing something that is unique and not available from any other local retailers. For example – a specialist skateboarding shop or servicing an online customer market. Where a retailer's sales only serve the local market, providing grant support can cause displacement ie if one local business receives support but this leads to another local business in the area losing customers then this has no added value to the Falkirk economy. 
• licensed premises that only operate as a public house and do not serve hot food.

You will need a record of the following:

• Trading name of the business
• Number of employees / turnovers
• Proposed expenditure
• Business bank details
• Copy of your lease if you are paying towards Non Domestic Rates for the premises
• Latest set of annual accounts and management accounts. Where the business hasn’t yet produced audited accounts then the management accounts will need to be certified by an accountant. 
• 2 quotes for each item being purchased
• Overview of business and plans for growth
• Executive summary:
• a brief overview of company proposals including how you plan to grow the business
• describe the investment for which you are seeking funding support and fully explain the impact it will have on the business
• Management and organisation:
• company structure
• the management team
• skills
• experience
• qualifications
• job titles
• History, business, and products:
• a brief description and history of the business
• a description of the principal products or services
• any proposed future developments
• Market and competition:
• size and location of market - local/ regional/ UK / Overseas
• who are major customers
• who are major competitors

This grant is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The budget is allocated on a first come first served basis.

There is a limited budget and the fund will close when the budget is fully allocated.

We anticipate a high number of applications which are processed in a chronological order. We will deal with your application as soon as we can but please be patient. It may take up to 4 weeks before you hear from us.

The process is in 2 stages:

1. Complete the online application form.

2. After you have received your grant award, you will have 3 months to complete your digital project and submit evidence of your grant spend. Once your eligible evidence is verified, your grant payment will be disbursed.