Formerly Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE), a grant providing direct
financial assistance available to businesses located in qualifying areas in England
to support expansion, modernisation and capital investment.
The amount of assistance which may be available ranges from £10,000 and up to £2m,
equating to between 10% and 35% of the expenditure.
Assisted Areas
Please contact VFS to determine if you are in an Assisted Area:
In Tier 2 areas GBI is available to any size of business, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria.
In Tier 3 Areas GBI is only available to SMEs (less than 250 people)
GBI grant is restricted to 20% of eligible expenditure for small enterprises (below 50 employees) and 10% for medium sized ones (below 250 employees) in tier 3 areas.
General GBI Eligibility Criteria:
A project will be considered for GBI if:
It is located in an Assisted Area
The project requires GBI to make it happen, or without GBI the project would only go ahead on a smaller scale, or within a longer timeframe
It involves capital expenditure
It creates new jobs or safeguards existing ones which would otherwise be put at risk (note that this requirement may be waived for grants of less than £100,000)
A majority of the jobs created or safeguarded require qualifications of level 2 NVQ (or equivalent) or above
It will secure increased productivity
The business is viable and can become self sustaining within a reasonable timeframe (for example three years)
It generates regional and national benefits, in line with the local Economic Strategy
The bulk of the finance for the project will come from private sources (such as bank finance or retained earnings)