The Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) provides capital and revenue expenditure grants to businesses and third sector organisations in Midlothian and is being allocated to support 3 programmes – Community Wealth Building, Exporting and Tourism, Culture and Heritage.

About the fund

  • This fund is available via The UK Shared Prosperity Fund
  • This fund will be open to applications during the financial year 2023/24 until the full amount of funds is awarded
  • Only businesses based and/or headquartered in Midlothian can apply
  • All project funds must be spent by 16th February 2024. Note that you can submit evidence of the spend before this date.
  • Closing date for this grant fund is 6th November 2023

Capital expenditure

Typically relates to funding for the purchase, refurbishment or renovation of fixed assets such as buildings or land to include fixtures and fittings. Capital expenditure items includes computers, software systems and other forms of equipment that are required to operate the business.

Revenue expenditure

This covers short term business expenses that are usually used immediately or within a year. Can include expenses to meet operational costs of doing business. This can include consultancy and staffing.

Revenue projects usually have an element of staffing costs. Where this is the case, the costs must be specific to the project described in the application and staffing costs should include gross salary plus employer National Insurance and pension costs.

Available Funding

1. Community Wealth Building Grants

This is to support the local social economy, including community businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises, as Midlothian transitions to a wellbeing economy.

Projects should support and strengthen local entrepreneurial ecosystems and plural economy enterprises to start, sustain, grow and innovate, including through local enterprise networks.

Grants of up to £11,148 for capital expenditure and up to £13,633.30 for revenue expenditure are available for Community Wealth Building projects.

2. Exporting Grants

Applications should clearly demonstrate how the grant fund will support new product development.

Projects can include early stage prototyping, modelling or beta testing that will accelerate the journey to commercialisation, with the potential to create higher value jobs.

Grants of up to £6,455.67 for exporting revenue are available for export projects.

3. Tourism, Culture & Heritage Grants

These funds are to encourage and support enterprises to get involved in tourism projects, cognisant of net zero and 20 minute neighbourhoods, to create local employment, training and volunteering opportunities while generating revenues that can be reinvested in communities.

Applications are invited from new and existing tourism businesses and community enterprises for projects that will develop new products, local attractions, trails etc, enhancing community wellbeing and the visitor economy.

Grants of up to £8,039.09 for capital expenditure and £11,637.05 for revenue expenditure are available for Tourism, Culture & Heritage projects.

What the funding will not support

Funding will not support:

  • General running costs and overheads
  • Stock
  • Routine repairs and maintenance
  • Work undertaken to meet statutory requirements
  • Vehicles
  • VAT element of the cost of goods/services.

Outcome to be met with the grant funding:

  • Jobs created
  • New businesses created
  • Businesses adopting new to the firm technologies or processes
  • Tourism, culture or heritage assets created or improved
  • Organisations engaged in new knowledge transfer activity
  • Businesses engaged in new markets
  • Businesses increasing their export capability.

Apply for the Midlothian Shared Prosperity Fund

Applications are open for the Midlothian Shared Prosperity Fund and can be completed online.

The grant will be paid after the funds have been spent, and evidence of the spend submitted to Midlothian Council.