Let’s be honest. Taking investment for your UK business can sometimes feel like handing over the TV remote at Christmas: someone else gets control, and before you know it, you’re watching Mrs Brown’s Boys instead of the King’s speech. The point is: giving up equity isn’t always the dream people make it out to be. Let's explore some alternatives to taking investment for UK businesses
Luckily, there are proper, grown-up alternatives to taking investment for UK businesses. They’re not all rainbows and unicorns, some involve a bit of paperwork (a few forms that look like they were designed in 1997, and possibly someone named Carol from finance) but they’re solid, sensible, and won’t cost you a slice of your company.
How to grow without selling your soul (or a kidney)? Let’s dive in.
1. Apply to a UK Business Incubator or Accelerator
Like The Apprentice, but with fewer boardroom glares and more actual support
If you’re still in your scrappy scale-up phase, or you’ve got a growing SME that could use a bit of a rocket up its backlog then incubators and accelerators can be brilliant. Think of them as the business equivalent of Hogwarts, but with fewer owls and more pitch decks.
What you get:
Networking with potential customers, partners or even future hires
Office space and snacks (yes, snacks)
Some even chuck in a bit of funding, sometimes even equity-free!
What to watch for:
Entry can be more competitive than a village bake-off final
It’s a time commitment, and not always compatible with your average 3-kid, dog-owning lifestyle
Where to look:
Barclays Eagle Labs : sector-agnostic, and nationwide
SETsquared : for the more academically inclined
Ideal for: Founders who want guidance, structure, and visibility, without giving up control.
2. Apply for UK Government Grants and Research Funding
Free money. No dragons. Just a lot of forms, and possibly Carol from finance.
Grants are the holy grail of alternatives to taking investment for UK businesses. They're non-dilutive, which is a fancy way of saying you keep 100% of your business. And in exchange, you get to build new things, solve complex problems, or even improve the world a bit. Just be prepared for some faff.
Pros:
No equity given up. You stay in charge.
Grants often come with prestige and PR value
Great for funding R&D, especially if you’re inventing something clever
Application processes can feel like you’ve entered the fifth circle of bureaucratic hell
You might need to partner with a university or hit some oddly specific eligibility
Timelines are rigid, deadlines are sacred
Where the cash lives:
NIHR funding : if you’re in medtech or health
Arts Council England :for the creatively inclined
Horizon Europe : still a thing, kind of, via UKRI
Ideal for: Businesses doing proper innovation, not just slapping AI on a thing and calling it a revolution.
The business equivalent of forming a supergroup. You might not be Queen, but you could be Busted meets McFly.
If your company plugs into a wider system (say, supply chains, manufacturing, clean tech, or weirdly niche software for aerospace) then consortium funding could be your ticket. It’s where a bunch of organisations band together, bid for something big, and split the pie.
Good bits:
Access to funding that’s usually off-limits for solo businesses
Shared responsibility, shared risk
Makes you look very grown-up in front of stakeholders
Less-good bits:
You won’t be the boss of the whole show
It can take a while to build the right partnerships
Where it happens:
Catapult Centres : think innovation hubs with decent coffee
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) : works well with unis
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) : especially up North, where the future is being built quietly and efficiently
4. Apply for a UK Innovation Loan
Debt, but the friendly, government-backed kind. Like a mortgage, but it won’t take 35 years to pay off.
Look, no one wants to take out a loan. But if you’ve got a solid plan and a product that’s nearly ready to fly the nest, an innovation loan might be just the ticket. Think of it as a financial leg-up rather than a shackle. It’s one of the more grown-up alternatives to taking investment for UK businesses, and frankly, sometimes it’s the smarter move.
Why it works:
The repayment terms are usually kinder than a student overdraft
It helps bridge that awkward “nearly there but not quite” funding gap
What to keep in mind:
It is still a loan. If things go sideways, you’ll need a plan B
Early-stage or pre-revenue businesses might struggle to qualify
You’ll need a business plan that’s tighter than a Bake Off showstopper brief
Where to get one:
Innovate UK Innovation Loans : from £100k to £2m
Ideal for: Businesses with one foot in the market already and a plan that just needs a nudge across the finish line. Or, you know, a six-figure nudge.
5. Sell One of Your Spare Organs (Kidding… Please Don’t)
Technically possible. Ethically dubious. Logistically horrific.
Ah, the age-old founder fantasy: funding the business with a kidney. You’ve got two, right? Surely that’s redundancy? But before you start Googling “black market organ price UK”, let’s take a deep breath and revisit those less medically-risky options.
Still tempted? Have a cuppa and re-read the above.
Final Thoughts: You Can Grow Without Giving It All Away
There’s a persistent myth in the startup scene that unless you’re raising investment every 14 minutes and posting about it on LinkedIn, you’re not doing it properly.
But actually? That’s nonsense. Plenty of clever, sustainable growth happens through grants, loans, partnerships, and good old-fashioned customer revenue.
And please, keep your organs where they belong.
Quick Recap: Alternatives to Investment (No Scalpel Required)
Accelerator/Incubator
* Good for: Early growth, support
Grant Funding
* Good for: R&D, social impact
Consortium Bids
* Good for: Collaboration, supply chain projects
Innovation Loans
* Good for: Near-market products, late-stage dev
Organ Sale
* Good for: …bad ideas. Just no.
Need a hand navigating this labyrinth?We help UK founders pick the right path (and avoid the painful ones). Whether it’s grant hunting, pitch-deck refining or just a moan over a pint, we’ve got you.