Businesses in Yorkshire have not been claiming their share of government innovation funding — settling for 66% less than some parts of the UK, a study by innovation funding specialist Catax shows.
Businesses across the UK have enjoyed £12.3bn of grant awards from government innovation agency, Innovate UK, since 2003.
However, in that time, companies in Yorkshire & Humber have received less grant cash than all but five regions, when adjusted for business population.
Businesses there received the equivalent of £2,204 each — 14% less than the national average of £2,563, while the North East has come out on top, netting the equivalent of £6,504 per company. Applicants in Yorkshire & Humber have been awarded £754 million in total.
The largest grant in Yorkshire & Humber over the last five years went to the University of Sheffield, which used £126.8 million to establish the High Value Manufacturing Catapult in order to provide world-class R&D facilities for UK businesses.
Three highest grant awards in Yorkshire & Humber in the past five years
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Grant recipient
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Location
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Award offered
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Description
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University of Sheffield
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Sheffield
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Two grants totalling £126,830,000
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To establish the ‘High Value Manufacturing Catapult’, which aims to provide access to world-class R&D facilities for businesses.
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Glass Futures Ltd
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Sheffield
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£16,000,000
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To create Glass Futures, a global centre of excellence dedicated to making glass the low carbon material of choice.
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Crop Health and Protection Ltd
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Ryedale
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£13,780,000
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Providing funding for CHAP, one of four UK Agri-Tech Innovation Centres, which aims to advance global crop productivity and yield.
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Other regions trailing the national average are the North West (£1,039), Northern Ireland (£1,465), Wales (£1,623), the East of England (£1,922), and the East Midlands (£2,084).
The national disparity has improved only slightly in the past five years and is still cause for concern. The North East was still the biggest recipient (£2,586 per business) between 2017 and 2022, while the North West continued to benefit the least (£473 per business).
Yorkshire & Humber has fallen two places in the table over the past five years, receiving £840 per business more recently, while the North East remains in front with £2,586. For Yorkshire & Humber, it means the gap has marginally widened to 67.5%. Grant funding nationally equalled £1,093 per business over the past five years.
The results of the study serve as a wake-up call to businesses across the UK to ensure they are taking advantage of funding opportunities on offer, as a lack of awareness continues to hold back applications.
Karen Taylor, group head of grants at innovation funding specialist Catax, says: “Yorkshire & Humber has not been making as much use of government innovation funding as it should be and it’s disappointing to see its position sink further behind more recently.
“Grants are a vital source of funding for businesses, giving many the financial resources they need to invest in new research and innovations. It might be that there is still a prevailing lack of awareness of these grants in the region, and this needs to be addressed.
“These findings should serve as a call to action for businesses in Yorkshire & Humber to take a look at what grants are on offer which could help them get their project off the ground.”
