LEAP Small Business Grants

LEAP grants are a small injection of funding of up to £2,000 aimed at start-ups and small businesses based in the Horsham District, with less than 20 FTE employees. You will need to match fund the grant funding by contributing towards 25% of your total project cost with your own investment.

In order to apply, you must meet the following requirements:

• Registered with Companies House or HMRC
• Less than 20 employees (FTE)
• Located in Horsham District
• 25% match funding
• Must have a fully costed, 3-year business plan

Please note: the LEAP grant cannot go towards project expenditure that was spent prior to the date of application. Applicants who have received 2 or more LEAP grants in the past are also excluded from submitting any further applications.

Eligible project expenditure includes: equipment, building works, e-commerce, etc. It does NOT include: salaries (unless this is for an apprentice), overheads, rent or stock.

Any business wanting to take on an apprentice should have a training provider in place and should be able to evidence that an agreement is in place to provide the ‘college’ training. If conducted in house, the trainer would still need to be accredited. If you do not have evidence for either of those, you must at least be able to demonstrate that an initial discussion with a training provider has taken place and that the course was suitable and available.

If you are interested in taking on an apprentice and need a bit more advice, you can sign up for free to the West Sussex Business Hub and watch our Apprenticeship Talent: Top Tips video which busts common myths and talks you through how you can find an apprentice.

Apply for LEAP funding

Applying is easy. All you need to do is fill in our online application form and include the following:

• Details of the project you are applying for and how it will help establish your business or enable your business to adapt to change.
• The timescale of the project you are intending to use the funding for. Please note that successful applicants will be given a 6-month window to complete their projects.
• A breakdown of how you will use the grant, plus your own financial contributions. Use our LEAP Grant project expenditure sheet to do this.
• Your fully costed, 3-year business plan. If you require a business plan template and advice, please visit the Government website. You can also watch our Help to write a business plan video, below, and find more useful links on our Start Up Local page.