Grant for Business Investment
The current position on this scheme that provides capital grants to businesses to support sustainable investment in England.
Applies to England
Grant for Business Investment (GBI) is a discretionary scheme that provides a capital grant to businesses to support sustainable investment in England. Its aim is to help businesses expand, modernise or diversify.
The GBI scheme is closed to new applicants. Offers of support made under the scheme over the period 2008 to 2014 will continue to be honoured, payments made and grant conditions monitored.
Applying for GBI?
You can no longer apply for a grant under the Grant for Business Investment Scheme.
The GBI scheme operated under the terms of the European Commission General Block Exemption Regulation (No 800/2008). This regulation came to an end on 30 June 2014. The GBI scheme is no longer in force. Offers of support made under the scheme over the period 2008 to 2014 will continue to be honoured, payments made and grant conditions monitored.
A replacement scheme that meets the requirements of the new General Block Exemption Regulation (No 651/2014) is currently being designed. This guidance will be updated when it is introduced.
Monitoring of projects awarded support
The monitoring of projects awarded support by the GBI scheme continues, as set out in the detailed guidelines.
We introduced an important change to the way in which projects awarded support before 30 June 2009 are monitored, with effect from 1 August 2012.
This is set out in an explanatory note.
In 2014 we introduced further changes to the way in which we deal with monitoring the achievement of productivity targets. These changes allow us to show flexibility where a beneficiary has had difficulty in meeting its productivity target. This flexibility applies particularly to small and medium-sized companies, though it also covers larger companies where the aid award is less than £2 million.
Other business support
Business finance and support finder.
Independent accountants reports: standardised terms of engagement
Grant beneficiaries are required to get confirmatory reports by independent accountants when seeking grant payments. This is part of the monitoring arrangements for support under the Grant for Business Investment (GBI) scheme and predecessor schemes.
The Audit and Assurance Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (the ICAEW) issued the Technical Release Audit 03/03. It provides guidance to accountants when they enter into special reporting arrangements for certain public sector grants.
The ICAEW expects accountants to generally follow its guidance and advises them to use professional judgement in its application. The guidance also reflects good practice for the sponsoring / grant paying bodies in relation to requests for accountants’ reports on grant claims.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), with HM Treasury, worked with the ICAEW over the guidelines for the independent accountants’ reports on grants arising from offers of financial help to industry under programmes such as:
- Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE)
- Regional Selective Assistance (RSA)
- Enterprise Grant (EG) Scheme and various research and development schemes
We reached agreement with the ICAEW on the standard Terms of Engagement letters in accordance with Appendix 3 of Audit 03/03 and Model Accountants Reports.
These are for use by:
- BIS programme managers
- project managers
- any organisations (public or private sector) engaged in administering the department’s grant aided projects
- accountants when reporting on grant claims
Updates to this page
Published 16 January 2013Last updated 20 February 2015 + show all updates
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You can no longer apply for a grant under the Grant for Business Investment Scheme.
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First published.