Vacant commercial property grant scheme

Grants of £2,500 to £10,000 to help you open new premises, who is eligible for the grant and how to apply.

Vacant commerical property grant

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to help you start trading from a vacant commercial property located in Bristol's designated City Centre or one of 46 designated high streets.

About the grant

Bristol City Council (BCC) has launched the Vacant Commercial Property Grant to help reduce the number of empty commercial properties across Bristol's city centre and local high streets. This scheme forms part of BCC's City Centre and High Streets Renewal Programme.

We aim to support:

small businesses and sole traders
charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs)
community organisations
creative and cultural groups

The core objectives of this grant are to:

reduce commercial vacancy rates across the city's designated high streets and in the city centre
diversify and enhance the commercial offer in these areas
increase footfall
create new jobs
make Bristol a better place to live for our residents.

The grant is designed to help you get up and running in a new property. It's not intended to provide ongoing financial support for your business.

The grant is funded by:

Bristol City Council
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority
The UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Who the grant is for

To be considered for this grant funding you'll be the leader of a small business, charity, CIC, arts or cultural group, or operating as a sole trader.

Your organisation will employ fewer than 50 people, have a turnover of £10.2 million or less, and a balance sheet showing £5.1 million or less. Your organisation must meet one of the trading status criteria below:

new to Bristol's commercial property market
returning after at least a 6-month absence
expanding into an additional property (not relocating)

You will not be considered an expanding business and will not be eligible if you are simply relocating from one property to another.

If you are unsure whether a property could be considered eligible, email business@bristol.gov.uk for guidance. Include the full address and postcode of the property in question.

You should refer to the pdf guidance notes(986 KB) for full eligibility details.

Key deadlines

Applications must be received by 11.59pm on Friday 14 November 2025. If all available funding is allocated before the deadline, we may close the scheme early.

Successful applicants must start trading from the funded property by Friday 30 January 2026.

You will have 90 days from the date of your Grant Offer Letter or until Friday 30 January 2026, whichever comes first, to complete all approved works and purchases and submit your payment claim for the full grant amount.

We updated the pdf application form(712 KB) and pdf guidance notes(986 KB) on 2 May 2025.

If you read the guidance notes or application form before this date, make sure you read the current versions.

How to apply

Read the pdf guidance notes(986 KB) first, which contain full eligibility criteria.

When you've read and understood the guidance notes, download the pdf application form(712 KB) and pdf MFA declaration form(203 KB) .

You need to send some supporting information when you return your application form. This is explained in the guidance notes. The application form has a checklist to help you prepare everything you need to send us.

To apply, send your full application to business@bristol.gov.uk by 11.59pm on Friday 14 November 2025.

Your application must include:

a fully completed application form
a recent bank statement dated within the last 30 days
photos of the inside and outside of the property
completed MFA declaration form
a signed lease or licence showing start and end dates (unless applying for an Offer in Principle)

Support to apply

If you need help understanding these guidance notes or how to complete the application, please email: business@bristol.gov.uk

You can contact us if you:

prefer to speak by phone, include your phone number in the email
need a reasonable adjustment for example a large print, alternative format
want someone else to act on your behalf , tell us who they are and why

Bristol City Council is committed to making this process accessible to everyone. We welcome applications from individuals and organisations of all abilities.

Support for businesses from the council

We've created some resources to help you to start or expand your business.

Our starting a new business page Go to index.php?Itemid=1099 (opens new window) provides details of some of the business support available throughout Bristol and links to other council services you may find useful. This page can help both new businesses and existing businesses who are opening new premises.

Our pdf business start-up and development toolkit Go to index.php?option=com_docman&view=document&alias=1102-business-start-up-and-development-tool-kit&category_slug=documents&Itemid=159 (opens new window)(581 KB) offers more detailed information and guidance on many of the aspects businesses should consider when starting or expanding.

If you would like to talk to someone about the different ways the council could support your business, our Business Development Officers can discuss what support may be available to you. Email business@bristol.gov.uk

How to find a property

There are lots of other property websites owned by third party, private sector companies. You can find these easily on any search engine.

Our commercial property and land page provides information about council property for sale or let.

To look for property in Bristol on the wider commercial market we recommend using Invest Bristol & Bath's property search website.

This inward investment service is managed by the West of England Combined Authority. The service requires you to register but is free for all users.

Realla and Estate Gazette's Property are good examples of private sector search engine for businesses because they only deal in commercial properties, with no residential listings.

If you are looking for property in a specific area another effective strategy is to visit the area and find potentially vacant properties yourself.

Once you find a property that looks to be vacant, you'll need to find the details for the landlord or managing agent.

You can try asking people in the neighbouring commercial and residential properties if they have these details. Otherwise, you will find details for the owner of the property on the government's land registry website.

There's a small cost for this service. At the time this information was updated the fee is £3 per property.

Meet the successful applicants

We visited some of the people who have already received funding through this grant. See the case studies below to read the interviews between the grant advisor and the business leaders.

Robb Maksimcyzk outside South Central Barbers