Cardiff Council

Cardiff Council provides discretionary financial assistance for new-start and existing businesses and inward investors to support expansion, job creation and innovation. Support is targeted at knowledge based sectors identified by the Council’s Economic Development Strategy including ICT, biotechnology and the creative industries. (Support is not offered to retail businesses or those serving only local markets).

Examples of the type of assistance that could be available to CBTC tenants is outlined below:

Business Development Credit: The Business Development Credit is a grant of £5,000 available to companies accepted for entry to CBTC towards the cost of strategic business development. This includes items such as business plans, marketing strategies or the acquisition of specialist expertise. This funding is currently not available to virtual tenants.

CBTC Investment Fund: This fund is again available to tenant companies towards strategic business development. Financial assistance can be provided up to £50,000 with the standard amount being £25,000. Assistance is offered as a repayable loan.

Business Planning or Feasibility Study Grant: Grants of up to 50% may be available to new start, existing businesses and potential inward investors, towards professional fees incurred in preparing business plans or feasibility studies required to raise finance, for example from banks, or applications for major government grant aid, such as the Assembly Investment Grant (AIG).

Marketing Grant: Grants of up to 50% may be made available towards the professional fees incurred in preparing a Marketing Plan or Strategy in order to promote new products and services.

Capital Funding: Assistance is available to both new-start and existing businesses towards the cost of purchasing plant or for minor building adaptations. Capital grants of between 7.5% - 25% of eligible expenditure may be made available, depending on the size of the company and its location within the city. Assistance is dependent on job creation and safeguarding.

Technology Funding: Finance may be made available in top-up or syndicate format toward projects commercially exploiting innovative and viable technology for UK and overseas markets, at any stage of the development process, start-up or expansion phases of a company.

Loan Fund: Finance may be made available to top-up project costs once other financial assistance has been sought. Loans of up to 50% of project costs up to a maximum of £20,000 may be made available towards capital equipment, environmental improvements, innovation & technology and diversification looking at new markets.