Innovate UK Innovation Loans

What it is

This is a repayable low-interest loan, not a grant — £100,000 to £5 million for late-stage, close-to-market innovation projects by UK SMEs that commercial lenders see as too risky. Applications run through an open-ended Expression of Interest competition with no submission deadline, and projects must fit one of six Industrial Strategy sectors.

Verified 2026-08-21 on the Innovation Funding Service (competition 2505 'Innovation Loans Expression of Interest'): open, loans £100k–£5m, EOI opened 6 Jun 2026, 'There is no submission deadline', projects expected to start from 1 Dec 2026. UK-registered micro, small or medium enterprises only; large companies, nonprofits, charities, academic institutions and research organisations are excluded. Projects must align with one of six Industrial Strategy sectors — Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Creative Industries, Digital and Technologies, Defence, or Life Sciences — and be at the Experimental Development (close-to-market) stage; the sector rule below maps the five wizard-expressible sectors, and Defence-sector SMEs (no exact wizard sector) typically fall under manufacturing or technology. Repayable with interest; ability to service and repay the loan is central to assessment.