Innovation Loans Expression of Interest
This is a loan-based funding opportunity for UK SMEs to accelerate late-stage R&D and pre-commercialisation activities, requiring a clear path to commercial impact and the financial capacity to repay the loan. It uniquely allows for up to 100% project cost coverage, including new categories like market testing and production scale-up.
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Competition Scope & Overview
This is an Expression of Interest (EOI) for an Innovation Loan. If your EOI is approved, you will be invited to submit a full application. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is offering loans to micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Innovate UK innovation loans are for highly innovative late stage research and development (R&D) projects with the best potential for the future. There must be a clear route to commercialisation and economic impact. Note: read all the instructions carefully as changes have been introduced to the Innovation Loans programme. This is to give businesses more flexibility to deliver both R&D and pre-commercial activities as well as increasing the maximum amount of the innovation loan and these are described further down in this section. Your project must lead to innovative new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of others currently available, or propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. It can also involve a new or innovative business model. Your project must focus on at least one of the following six Industrial Strategy Sectors:
Advanced Manufacturing Clean Energy Creative Industries Defence Digital and Technologies Life Sciences
Note: Financial Services, and Professional and Business Services sectors are not in scope for Innovation Loans. You must be able to show that you:
need public funding can cover interest payments will be able to repay the loan on time
We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.
We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions. The deadline for each drawdown submission is 11am UK time on the dates stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
Application Questions & Guidance Brief
Every question below carries specific word limits and guidance criteria.
Project summary
Official Guidance
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We will not score this summary, but it will give the Innovation Loans team a useful introduction to your project. It should provide a clear overview of the whole project, including: your vision for the project; key objectives; main areas of focus; details of how it is innovative; your team; why you are unable to fund the project from your own resources or other forms of public or private sector funding; how you will commercialise your idea as soon as possible after project completion.
Industrial strategy alignment
Official Guidance
State which one of the six themes of the UK’s Industrial Strategy your project most closely aligns with. You must select one option: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Digital and Technologies, Defence, Life Sciences.
Research and Development stage
Official Guidance
Is your project, or product, currently at the Experimental Development stage? You must select one option: Yes, No. Note: Innovation Loans are only suitable for Experimental Development, if you select no for this question you will be made ineligible.
Commercial maturity
Official Guidance
Choose what stage commercial maturity your business is at, as of today. You must select one option: Pre-revenue and too early to set targets, Pre-revenue, unpaid trials, First users, paid trials, or customers, Turnover of more than £250,000 annual recurring revenues with early customer base, Turnover of more than £1.2 million annual recurring revenues with established customer base, Turnover of more than £5 million per annum and globally deployed.
Cash position
Official Guidance
Choose a statement that best describes your current cash position, expressed as either positive (cash exceeds costs), neutral (cash matches costs) or negative (costs exceeds cash). You must select one option: Cash positive, Cash neutral, Cash negative.
Breakeven
Official Guidance
Choose the timeframe when you expect profits to cover losses. You must select one option: Already achieved, In the next 12 months, In the next 24 months, More than 24 months.
Professional investors
Official Guidance
List the key professional investors with investment in the business. If you don't have any, please state "none".
Funding strategy
Official Guidance
Choose where you are with your current funding strategy, as of today. You should exclude your application for an Innovation Loan as part of this answer. You must select one option: Mainly non-dilutive or self-funding (grants, revenue, founders capital), Mainly external equity, Mainly commercial debt or asset based finance.
Innovation loan size
Official Guidance
Choose the range of size of loan you would like to apply for. You must select one option: £100,000 to £500,000, £500,001 to £1,000,000, £1,000,001 to £3,000,000, £3,000,001 to £5,000,000, £5,000,001 or more.
Fundraising
Official Guidance
Enter how much you intend to raise through non-grant means (for example, pre-seed, seed, Series A, B and C, debt) that does not include the Innovation Loan amount, and when you expect the capital to be available to you. Also specify what type of fundraising you'll be doing in the next two years if different from the previous questions.
Previous Innovate UK support
Official Guidance
Specify whether you have received Innovate UK support before. Funding also includes financial support and subsidies such as the Global Business Innovation Programme. You must select one option: Yes, No, Don’t know.
Pitch deck, management accounts, team
Official Guidance
You must upload your most recent pitch deck, management accounts, and team structure. Provide us with: the most recent pitch deck used, this does not need to be tailored for an Innovation Loan; your most recent management accounts, these will be treated with confidentiality if not already publicly available; an overview of your team structure, including any roles that are currently vacant, and planned recruitment, including timeframes. If you have an existing data room, you can provide us with the link within an attachment if relevant. You must upload at least one attachment that covers what is being asked for. They must be a PDF no larger than 20MB. It can be up to thirty A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom. You must select one option: I have provided the information requested, I am unable to provide the information requested.
Confirmation of application
Official Guidance
Company authorisation and approval is required. The Company confirms that it, together with all required directors, shareholders and any guarantors, has duly authorised and approved the submission of the EOI in accordance with its constitutional and corporate approval requirements. You must select one option: Yes, I have authorisation and approval, No, I do not have authorisation and approval.