Business - finance and funding

Getting the right type of grants, funding and finance for your business is essential. There are many different types available and each of them are designed to meet different needs. For further information, please visit the East Cambridgeshire District Council Business web pages.   

Business development funding

CPCA Growth Hub

The CPCA Growth Hub is funded by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and is here to connect your business. The CPCA Growth Hub is here to help you find support, information and funding that you need to thrive as well as grow as a business.

Energy efficiency financing 

The Carbon Trust is an independent company funded by Government. Its role is to help the UK move to a low carbon economy by helping business and the public sector reduce carbon emissions now and capture the commercial opportunities of low carbon technologies. They offer leases, loans and other financing options. New, more efficient equipment should lower energy bills and with payments calculated so that they are offset by the anticipated energy savings, the financing option is designed to pay for itself.

British Business Bank Finance Hub

The British Business Bank Finance Hub is designed to help businesses understand the financial landscape and ultimately access the right finance for their growth potential. It is an independent, impartial digital hub designed to raise awareness of the different types of finance available for growing UK businesses. Explore finance options and find funding to suit your business:

Business rates

Non-Domestic Rates, or Business Rates, are collected by local authorities for central government. Business rates mean businesses contribute towards the cost of providing local services. Each non-domestic property has a rateable value set by valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

Small business rate relief

You will be eligible for a discount under the small business rate relief scheme in England if you only occupy one property and it has a rateable value below £12,000.

Until March 2015 you'll get 100% relief (doubled from the usual rate of 50%) for properties with a rateable value of £6,000 or less. This means you will not pay business rates on properties with a rateable value of £6,000 or less.

The rate of relief will gradually decrease from 100% to 0% for properties with a rateable value between £6,001 and £12,000.

If you have more than one business property, the discount is only available if the rateable value of each of the other properties is below £2,600. If this is the case, the rateable values of all the properties will be combined and the relief is applied to the main property based on the total rateable value.

However, if you occupy a property with a rateable value below £18,000 (£25,500 in London) and you are not receiving a different mandatory relief, you will be eligible to have your bill calculated using the small business multiplier, regardless of the number of properties you occupy.

The Government has also simplified the process for claiming the relief by removing the legal requirement for an application form in order to claim the relief. However, if you are not receiving the relief and you think that you are eligible, you should contact your local billing authority.

For more information please visit the Anglia Revenue Partnership Business Rate Reliefs (external link).