Newhaven Business Grants Programme guidance and eligibility
Introduction
Newhaven Business Grants Programme guidance note, version 1.5, updated January 2025.
The purpose of this guidance is to advise applicants on what projects and spend is eligible to receive grant funding in the Newhaven Business Grants Programme.
Eligible businesses
To be eligible businesses must meet the following eligibility criteria:
SME
Businesses must meet the following criteria:
- fewer than 250 FTE (full time equivalent) employees;
- a balance sheet of less than €43m;
- a turnover of less than €50m
Trading
If employees are 0 FTE, business will need to evidence that they are trading. Proof of trading may include:
- Companies House document;
- Business Bank Statement;
- Insurance for business;
- UTR or tax correspondence from HMRC;
- Business rates bill.
Location
Businesses applying to the scheme must be located in the Newhaven Town Deal area, and projects must benefit the site of the business that is located in the Newhaven Town Deal Area.
Newhaven Town Deal Area Map (lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk)
Sector
Education, health, care, property and residential services are not eligible for funding through this programme.
Subsidy Control
The Newhaven Business Grants Programme provides subsidies to businesses under Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA). Under MFA businesses cannot receive more than £315,000 in a three-year period.
Businesses may not receive a subsidy from the programme that causes them to exceed this limit.
Eligible projects
Businesses will need to apply for eligible projects that meet the following criteria:
Capital spend ONLY
Grants are to support business with capital projects only. In this case this means tangible items such as kit, machinery, equipment, work vehicles, and adaptations to premises.
The projects must require the full purchase of an item, and does not include (for example) stock, materials and individual components (e.g. within a refurbishment), digital software, lease of equipment or items, and staff costs etc.
Supports growth and/or improvements
The grant needs to support growth or improvements in the business, i.e. the project must provide for new or additional activities. This will be tested as part of the application.
The project needs to either create a minimum of one full-time job, or any two of the following:
- Increased productivity
- New-to-firm product or service
- Minimum one part-time job
- Bring social value to Newhaven
- Promote increased spend in Newhaven
- Promote increased dwell time in Newhaven
- Contribution to achieving net zero
Planning permission and other documents
Projects that require planning permission must have an approved planning application for their project before entering the programme.
We may also require other documents to be provided before proceeding with an application, such as a lease agreement, confirmation of land ownership or any other legal document required to confirm a business and project’s eligibility.
Within eligible grant limits
Projects must be requesting a minimum grant of at least £1,000.
The maximum grant that the programme will award is £15,000 but this may be lower depending on the turnover and size of the business applying.
The minimum intervention rate for the programme is 25% of the project cost, meaning projects must be less than £60,000.
Businesses that have previously received a grant of less than £15,000 from the Newhaven Business Grants Programme in Round 1 will be eligible to apply for a grant from the programme in this current round (Round 2), but for no more than the difference between their Round 1 grant value and £15,000. For example, if a business received £5,000 in Round 1, they will still be eligible for a grant of up to £10,000 in Round 2.
Maximum of four items
Due to the administrative capacity of the programme, projects can only include a maximum of four items. Each item must cost more than £400 to be eligible for funding.
Applications will have to include three quotes for each item included. Where businesses do not choose the cheapest quote, an explanation of why another quote has been chosen will need to be provided.
Excluded items
The programme will award grants for work vehicles such as an electric van, but not for normal cars or vehicles that are associated with personal use.
Personal devices such as a phone, tablet, laptop, computer and computing devices are also excluded. Exceptions on personal devices may be made where a strong business case is made, and risk of personal use is small.
Other items may be excluded where risks are identified.
Displacement
The programme will not support displacement of jobs or businesses in Newhaven or East Sussex. Grant applications may be rejected where this is identified as a risk.
Grant limits
Maximum grant value
The maximum grant that can be awarded as part of the programme is £15,000 at 50% of the cost of the project.
Minimum intervention rate
The programme is designed to fund 50% of the cost of projects, but the programme will support projects with a value up to £60,000 or at a minimum intervention rate of 25%.
Minimum grant value
The minimum grant that the programme will award is £1,000.
This means that the minimum cost of a project must be equal to or more than £2,000.
Important points
Businesses should be aware of the following important points when considering an application to the programme:
Pre-approved items only
Businesses can only purchase pre-approved items as per the chosen quote in their application. If a business purchases an alternative item or from an alternate source, their claim for grant funding may be rejected.
Funding cannot be retrospective
Businesses must be approved and have a signed grant funding agreement before making the purchase.
Businesses that have already committed money towards a purchase or made a purchase before the date of the grant funding agreement may find their claims are rejected.
You must have the funds to complete your purchases
Businesses can only claim the grant funding once their purchase is complete, and they have taken delivery of the item(s). Therefore, businesses will need to have the funds up front to make the purchase and the cashflow to wait for the grant funding claim to be processed and paid.
Eligible match funding sources include;
- bank loan or overdraft facility;
- the Grant Recipient's own funds;
- the Grant Recipient's own funds, including owners/directors loan to the business;
- personal funds from the Company;
- private Investor / New Share Capital / New Equity investors.
You must have the relevant insurance(s) in place
Businesses will need to have the relevant insurance policy cover in place for the respective capital equipment purchased through grant funding, including Public Liability Insurance and Employer's Liability Insurance alongside any other policies that may apply.
Business bank account
Grant funding can only be paid into a business bank account, and therefore businesses must have a business account to be eligible to receive a grant.
Evidence requirements
Businesses will have to provide evidence throughout the programme. This will include, but may not be limited to:
- three quotes for each item funded;
- receipts or remittance for each item funded;
- photographic evidence of purchase.
Financial checks
Businesses will need to provide financial information as part of the application process.
For new businesses, we may ask for a personal credit check where financial information on the businesses is not available.
VAT
VAT will be calculated differently for VAT and non-VAT registered businesses:
- if VAT registered, the grant will be calculated as 50% of the total costs excluding VAT;
- if not VAT registered, the grant will be calculated as 50% of the total including VAT.
Businesses that received support through Round 1
Businesses that received support through the first round of the Newhaven Business Grants Programme may still be eligible for support though this round of the programme.
Businesses are eligible for a total of £15,000 across the lifetime of the programme, meaning that if a business received less than £15,000 of grant support in the first round, they may be able to apply for the difference between their first grant and the maximum award of £15,000.