Eligibility for BEEGP

Businesses from all sectors are eligible for consideration (excluding, agriculture, forestry and fisheries), except for:

• charities
• those of a political or religious persuasion
• activities involving pornography or clairvoyance
• any business activity that is illegal or deemed unsuitable for public support by Birmingham City Council

To be classed as an SME, your business must meet one of the following requirements:

• employ less than 250 people
• have an annual turnover below £36million
• have an annual balance sheet total not exceeding £18million. If the business is owned by another company or a combination of other companies, refer to the Government SME legislation

To be considered for the Business Energy Efficiency Grant Programme, you must be able to answer 'yes' to each of the following questions before you apply:

1. Are you:
   • an SME that is an established company which has been actively trading for at least 12 months or more, based in one of these 7 local authority areas:
     • Birmingham
     • Coventry
     • Dudley
     • Sandwell
     • Solihull
     • Walsall
     • Wolverhampton
2. Can you provide evidence that you have registered your business?
   • if you are a limited company - you will need to provide Companies House registration.
   • if you are a partnership - you will need to provide a copy of your partnership agreement
   • ff you are a sole trader - you will need to provide evidence of self-employed status with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
3. Are you a profit-seeking business?
4. Has your business either:
   • already had an energy efficiency assessment by a qualified assessor with appropriate knowledge and qualifications, that is to say, ISO/ESOS accreditation, to evidence the environmental savings that the business will achieve. Grants can be sought for solutions to one, some, or all the recommendations for energy reduction measures provided within the assessment.
     • the assessment must have been carried out within the last 2 years
     • the cost of the initial independent energy assessment is an ineligible BEEGP project cost.
   • if your business is based in the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull or Walsall Council areas, and has not had an energy efficiency assessment, you must have registered for a free energy audit before you complete a BEEGP application. The audit must be carried out before submitting a BEEGP application. Register for a free energy audit
   • if your business is based in the Coventry City Council area, you can apply directly to Coventry City Council for an Energy Audit. They will support you to complete your BEEGP grant application form. Email: Business@coventry.gov.uk
5. Will your BEEGP project have a minimum 2 year payback, where the energy saving benefits of your project exceed the cost of the grant over a 2-year period? The minimum payback period may be extended according to the grant size for projects over £50,000.
6. Can you provide most recent year’s full accounts and, where the applicant is part of a group, consolidated group accounts?
7. Can you deliver your project in a 3-month period following receipt of your offer for grants up to £30,000, or within 4 months for grants more than £30,000? Priority will be given to investment ready projects which can be completed within 3 months. For high value, more complex projects, project timescales are subject to negotiation.
8. Are your business rates payable to either Birmingham City Council, City of Wolverhampton, Coventry City Council, Dudley Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council or Walsall Council? Check if your business postcode fits into an eligible local authority.
9. Will your BEEGP grant enable you to purchase capital assets that will help you to become more efficient and cost effective? Grants must result in energy/resource efficiency improvements to business premises. View the list of eligible BEEGP technologies.
10. Do you have cash match?
    • cash funding is the difference between the grant you are seeking and the remaining cost of your project.
    • all applications must provide cash funding which can be sourced from the private sector, but not other public sector funding, Asset Finance or similar financial products involving a financial arrangement whereby an item is paid for in instalments, as this does not provide full evidence of defrayed expenditure.
    • loans, overdrafts, savings or company funds are considered to be eligible cash match, and these must be secured and in place prior to approval of a BEEGP grant
11. Can you get a minimum of 3 competitive quotes for each item* above £2,499 along with the relevant evidence by the BEEGP procurement guidance?
    • quotes for project expenditure should not be from persons or businesses connected to your business, directors or shareholders.
    • only one quote is required for items up to £2,499
    • *one item or the sum of many items from one supplier
12. You agree to take part in follow-up monitoring of the impact of the project and surveys/evaluation?
13. As a participant taking part in the pilot Business Energy Advice Service BEEGP, you accept the terms of the BEAS Privacy Notice.

Download privacy notice

If you answered 'yes' to all the above, you can submit your application.

Notes

• The use of consultants or third parties in completing the BEEGP grant application form is an ineligible cost.
• The programme limits awards to one grant per SME from BEEGP.

Who to contact

Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton based businesses

Email: wmgp@birmingham.gov.uk

Coventry based businesses

Business finance and support enquiry form

Email: Business@coventry.gov.uk

Page last updated: 23 April 2024