Islands Business Resilience Fund round 2

What is it? 

The Islands Business Resilience Fund provides grants to boost the resilience of island businesses in tourism and perishable goods sectors impacted by prolonged ferry disruption.

This is the second round of the fund.

About the fund

The fund is delivered by HIE on behalf of the Scottish Government. It aims to support island businesses whose operations have been significantly affected by repeated ferry service disruption.

In Round 1, we distributed funding to eligible applicants across the following island communities: Arran, Benbecula, Berneray, Colonsay, Eriskay, Grimsay, North Uist and South Uist. Applications for these islands closed on 15 September 2025.

Who's eligible in round 2?

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

• Barra
• Coll
• Gometra
• Iona
• Islay
• Jura
• Mull
• Small Isles (Canna (and by extension, Sanday), Muck, Rum & Eigg)
• Tiree
• Ulva
• Vatersay

To qualify, applicants must have a trading address on one or more eligible islands and primarily operate in one of these sectors:

• Retail outlets (shops, stalls, markets) affected by reduced footfall
• Cafes, restaurants and other eateries•    Hotels, B&Bs and accommodation providers (e.g. hostels, campsites)
• Visitor attractions - museums, galleries, leisure facilities, events
• Transport operators in the visitor economy (taxi, bus, cycle hire)
• Tour operators and guides, including wildlife tours, small boat trips, retreats, etc.
• Processing/manufacture of fresh food and drink (e.g. fresh seafood)
• Transport/storage of perishable food and drink (excluding alcohol)

The organisation must:

• Have been trading on an eligible island on or before 1 April 2024 (12-month trading accounts required)
• Have 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 50% or more of turnover from eligible sectors on eligible islands. Self-employed applicants' main income (at least 50%) should come from trading in the eligible sectors. Online sales will be classed as off island sales unless the goods sold online are perishable e.g. fish
• Be a small or medium enterprise (0–249 employees)
• Have more than 50% of staff based on eligible islands
• Intend to continue trading in eligible sectors for the next 12 months

Who is not eligible?

• Public sector or arm’s-length government bodies
• Political organisations
• Religious/membership organisations (unless trading activities are open to all)
• Organisations transporting perishable goods primarily by air rather than ferry
• Organisations based in Sanday in the Orkney Islands.

How much can I apply for?

Awards will be based on demand and the size of organisations that apply for support.

Application process

Applications open on 8 December 2025 and close at 17:00 on 12 January 2026. Please note that the application portal will not be available from 17:00 on 22 December 2025 to 09:00 on 5 January 2026. 

Late applications 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 March 2026.

Please ensure that you provide all the information required. The information we ask for is the minimum required to assess your application 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.

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 sole traders and partnerships, a copy of your full income tax return for 2023/24, as submitted to HMRC.
• a 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. (see FAQs document for worked example)
• 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, it 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.