Islands Business Resilience Fund 2025

What is it? 

The Islands Business Resilience Fund is being delivered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise on behalf of Scottish Government (SG). The fund will help improve business resilience following several years of ferry disruption to a number of west coast island communities.

About the fund

The purpose of the fund is to support the resilience of SME organisations (businesses and social enterprises) operating in the visitor economy and perishable goods sector across targeted islands which have had prolonged disruption to their ferry services from mainland Scotland.

The award is a non-repayable revenue grant.

Who's eligible?

SME organisations (businesses and social enterprises) operating in the visitor economy and perishable goods sector across one or more of the following islands:

• Arran
• Benbecula
• Berneray
• Colonsay
• Eriskay
• Grimsay
• North Uist
• South Uist

All applicants must have a trading address in one or more of these islands and must be primarily operating in one of the following sectors:

• Retail outlets including retail sales in stalls, markets etc.
• Cafes, restaurants and other eateries
• Hotels, B&Bs and other accommodation providers e.g. youth hostels, campsites
• Visitor attractions including museums, art galleries, indoor/outdoor leisure facilities and events, etc.
• Taxi, bus, cycle and other land-based transport operators
• Tour operators and guides operating from an eligible island, including those offering bespoke experiences such as retreats, small boat tours, whale watching, fishing, etc.
• Processing/manufacture of perishable food and drink items e.g. fresh seafood
• Transport and storage of perishable food and drink items (this excludes alcoholic drinks)

The organisation must: 

• Have started trading on an eligible island on or before 1 April 2024 – applicants will be required to provide 12-month trading accounts.
• Have an annual turnover of at least £22,000 in their last accounting period i.e. your approved annual accounts or, for self employed, your income and expenditure as declared to HMRC in January 2025.
• Generate at least 50% of their turnover from one of the eligible sectors on one or more of the eligible islands. Self-employed applicants' main income (at least 50%) should come from trading in the eligible sectors. 
• Be a small or medium enterprise as determined by average annual employee numbers i.e. between 0 and 249 employees.
• Have more than 50% of your staff based on one or more of the eligible islands.
• Intend to continue trading in the eligible sectors for the next 12 months.

Who is not eligible?

The following types of organisations are not eligible to apply:

• Public sector and arms-length government organisations
• Political organisations
• Religious/membership organisations (unless proof can be given that their trading activities are open to all)
• Organisations that transport perishable goods primarily by air rather than ferry.

How much can I apply for?

Awards will be based on demand and size of organisations that apply for support. However, we expect awards to range between approximately £3,000 and £35,000.

Application process

The application process will open on 2 July 2025 at 12 noon and will close on 1 September 2025 at 12 noon. Any applications received after this date will not be considered.

We expect decisions to be made at the earliest opportunity after the closing date. We expect to make payments by 31 October 2025.

We appreciate that we are asking you to complete a lengthy application and provide a lot of information. The information will help us assess the applications and distribute funds in a timely manner.

There is NO appeals process. We are unable to consider a complaint purely relating to dissatisfaction as to the outcome of a funding decision. However, if you have identified a specific process failure relating to your application then you may wish to make a formal complaint. See our formal complaints process for more information. 

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

To allow us to assess your application in full, the application form requires a lot of information and multiple document uploads. You can NOT save the form and return to it later. Please ensure you have all of the necessary information and documents to hand before you start filling out this application, including:

• Evidence of turnover – this could be annual accounts or for self-employed, income tax return
• For self-employed applicants, an HMRC document showing your Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number
• Bank statement from the last 3 months – clearly showing account name, account number and bank sorting code. This should be the account any potential award is paid into
• Company registration number or OSCR registered number, where applicable
• FCA registration number for registered society, co-operative or community benefit organisation
• VAT registration number.
• Average annual employee numbers, calculated from permanent and seasonal. A full-time equivalent (FTE) is 30 hours minimum per week but could be 35 to 40 hours according to your organisation’s normal working hours. For part-time staff year-round add 0.5 of a post and the same for full-time seasonal. For part-time seasonal staff count 0.25.
• Details of any previous Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA).

Fair Work

• We are also gathering information regarding Fair Work which will be used for reporting purposes only and will not impact your application. For more information on Fair Work see The Fair Work Convention.

The small print - this is important 

• All HIE grant assistance is discretionary.
• Grant awards are subject to due diligence and we reserve the right to request further information in support of our assessment or as part of monitoring and evaluation.
• Making an application to the scheme does not guarantee that your application will be successful.
• The application must be submitted by someone with the relevant authority within the organisation.
• There is NO appeals process. We are unable to consider a complaint purely relating to dissatisfaction as to the outcome of a funding decision. However, if you have identified a specific process failure relating to your application then you may wish to make a formal complaint. See our formal complaints process for more information.
• Your application may be subject to audit checks.

Need to speak to us?

Before you get in touch, please have a look at our frequently asked questions.

If you would like to talk to someone about your enquiry, please email islandsfund@hient.co.uk and we will get back to you.