Grants and Funding
Use the links below to find the information you need:
- Malvern Hills Growth Fund
- Enterprising Worcestershire Start-Up Grant
- Elevate Worcestershire Growth Grant
- Net Zero Worcestershire Grants
- Innovation Worcestershire Grant
- Apprentice Bursary 2026
- Malvern Hills Town Centre Support Scheme Grant
- Malvern Hills Upskilling Grant
- Three Counties Agricultural Society Bursary Schemes
- King’s Trust Development Awards
- SkillsBoost Worcestershire
Malvern Hills Growth Fund
Are you a business that is looking to invest, expand and reach your full potential. The Malvern Hills Growth Fund is a new, fully council funded programme. It supports a wide range of activities that help businesses grow—whether through investing in new equipment, expanding facilities, creating new jobs, or improving productivity.
The Fund welcomes applications from micro, small and medium sized enterprises, Community Interest Companies, social enterprises, and commercially active not for profit organisations based in Wychavon. This includes all sectors from manufacturing, rural enterprises, hospitality, tourism, and the wider business community. Grants range from £500 to £15,000, depending on your project and business type.
For more information read the Malvern Hills Growth Fund page.
Funding from £1,000 to £5,000 for Small to Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) businesses based in Malvern Hills district that have been trading for less than 36 months.
Grants are awarded on a match-funded basis, meaning the SME will need to provide at least 60% of the total cost of the project.
Find out about more about Start-up Business Grants.
Enterprising Worcestershire offers Pre-Start Support and Early Stage Business Coaching.
This scheme is under review, please contact Worcestershire Growth Hub.
Elevate Worcestershire Growth Grant
Established Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) based in Worcestershire can access between £1,000 and £10,000 in grant funding to fund growth projects.
The grant scheme is a dedicated initiative aimed at empowering businesses to take their growth to the next level. Whether you are looking to expand your operations, invest in cutting edge technology, improve your marketing strategy, or expand into new markets, the Elevate Worcestershire Grant has got you covered.
Grants are awarded on a match-funded basis, meaning the SME will need to provide at least 60% of the total cost of the project.
Find out more and apply for the Elevate Worcestershire Growth Grant
Elevate Worcestershire also offers Growth Support to help established businesses scale and grow.
This scheme is under review, please contact Worcestershire Growth Hub.
Net Zero Worcestershire Grants
Grant funding is available to help Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to implement energy saving initiatives including LED lighting, heating and insulation and renewables. The initiative aims to support SMEs to make the transition towards a sustainable and low-carbon future. Malvern Hills businesses can apply for between £1,000 and £8,000.
Grants are awarded on a match-funded basis, meaning the SME will need to provide at least 60% of the total cost of the project.
Find out more and apply for the Net Zero Worcestershire Grant.
Net Zero Worcestershire also offers free Decarbonisation Reviews.
This scheme is under review, please contact Worcestershire Growth Hub.
Innovation Worcestershire Grant
The Innovation Worcestershire Grant offers funding to help Small to Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) businesses develop innovative products and processes.
Malvern Hills businesses can apply for between £2,500 and £15,000. Grants will be awarded on a match-funded basis, meaning the SME will need to provide at least 60% of the total cost of the project.
Find out more about the Innovation Worcestershire Grant.
Innovation Worcestershire will also offer bespoke support to help Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) develop new innovative processes, products, technologies and services.
This scheme is under review, please contact Worcestershire Growth Hub.
Apprentice Bursary 2026
The council recognises that trainees may struggle to cover the cost of travel or equipment to access their work or training and that this may prevent them from applying for certain jobs.
An Upskilling Bursary Scheme has therefore been agreed to support trainees where they earn the minimum wage for their age and are Malvern Hills residents.
£500 is available to help cover the cost of travel, equipment, tools and clothing necessary to access training. For those interested in using active travel methods (walking/cycling) for their commute to work this may be put towards the cost of equipment such as purchase of a bicycle or e-bike. These bursaries will be administered via Worcestershire Apprenticeships on behalf of MHDC.
Bursary Qualifying Criteria
The applicant must:
- Live in Malvern Hills District.
- Earn less than £250 per week (Before deductions)
- Attend a qualifying course and be employed for 12 months or however long it takes to complete the course (whichever is longer)
- Be completing Ofqual registered training or approved Apprenticeship Standard Framework which leads to a nationally recognised qualification.
- Be employed for more than 30 hours per week.
Please read the Malvern Hills District Council Upskilling Bursary Scheme before applying for the bursary.
This scheme is under review, please contact
Malvern Hills Town Centre Support Scheme Grant
Funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the aim of the scheme is to support investment by independent traders within the five town centres of the Malvern Hills district (Great Malvern, Malvern Link incl. Link Top, Barnards Green, Upton and Tenbury).
Priority will be given to projects that enhance the area, are likely to attract business and where the improvement will be long lasting (e.g., 5 years and more).
Eligible businesses can apply for a 50% match-funded grant of up to £2500 towards one, or a combination, of the following grants:
- Shop front Improvements – Undertaking works to improve or refurbish the shop front or internal structural improvements.
- Empty Shop Support - Support to bring an empty shop back into commercial use including support for equipment, anything external or internal premises related
- Town Centre Boost - An additional £1000 grant is available to traders or community groups to deliver town centre wide projects and promotions to drive new footfall, investment, or sustainability (there is no match funding requirement associated with this grant).
This scheme is under review, please contact
Malvern Hills Upskilling Grant
Malvern Hills District Council is helping local businesses create their workforce of the future through the Upskilling Grant Scheme. We will provide funding of up to £1,500 to help with the business cost of training new staff (i.e. apprenticeships, trainee or other).
In order to qualify the business must:
- Be based in the Malvern Hills district postcode area.
- Employ fewer than 250 people.
- Pay at least the Minimum Wage to the trainee for a post of at least 30 hrs a week including training leading to a recognised qualification.
- The apprentice/ trainee must have started their training after 1 October 2022 and have at least a 12 month signed employment contract.
You will also need to provide the following evidence:
- Proof of enrolment on a training course signed by the employer and training referrer/provider organisation
- Copy of the contract of employment
- Signed Grant Agreement between employer and Malvern Hills District Council
- Any additional evidence requested by Malvern Hills District Council
If you would like to discuss this grant please email
Please read the full guidance and T&C’s before applying for the grant
This scheme is under review, please contact
Three Counties Agricultural Society Bursary Schemes
Three Counties Agricultural Society Bursary in Memory of Joe Henson MBE & The John Tedstone Bursary supports those within the three counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire venturing into further education in agriculture or related subjects.
Three Counties Agricultural Society Bursary
Farming in Protected Landscapes Funding
Defra is offering funding for projects in England’s Protected Landscapes through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme including the Malvern Hills AONB. It is for one-off projects and is not an agri-environment scheme.
The programme is time limited: it opened in July 2021 and is due to end in March 2024. Funding is available for projects that reflect at least one of the four Farming in Protected Landscapes programme themes:
- Support NATURE recovery
- Mitigate the impacts of CLIMATE CHANGE
- Provide opportunities for PEOPLE to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage
- Protect or improve the quality and character of the PLACE
Help is available to discuss and complete applications. Please contact Sash Warden Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) Officer Tel: 01905 844686 Mob: 07873 616395 email:
King’s Trust Development Awards: Small Grants for Young People Aged 16 – 30
The King’s Trust Development Awards programme provides small grants for young people aged 16 - 30 to help them access education, training and employment. They can offer £150, which you do not have to pay back. And up to around £500.
For more information visit their website.
SkillsBoost Worcestershire
SkillsBoost Worcestershire helps organisations with the costs of upskilling and training their employees.
Worcestershire organisations can claim 50% of the training costs back, up to £6,000, for their Worcestershire based employees. This means that the new funding can allow organisations to upskill or redeploy their employees to maximise their effectiveness.
Businesses of any size and sector are eligible for the programme as long as the employees they are looking to upskill or retrain reside in Worcestershire. The SkillsBoost programme is being delivered in collaboration with Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and Worcestershire Growth Hub.
This scheme is under review, please contact