Methods for accessing public funded support in Bristol.
Bristol Business and Enterprise Support (BrisBES)
A free to access service that provides tailored support to your business if you're a sole trader or small and medium sized enterprise (SME) and have a business located in Bristol. It can also support to you when developing a new business if you're a Bristol resident. This can help you to grow, adapt or sustain your business by providing the support you need, including, but not limited to:
- financing
- marketing
- business planning
- market research
- product development
- recruitment
The service is currently delivered on behalf of the council by YTKO Ltd and is available until the end of March 2026. You can find out more and register for the service and on the BrisBes West of England website
Business and Intellectual Property Centres (BIPC)
The BIPC is part of the British Library's National Network of Business & IP Centres. The network is supported by the Intellectual Property Office. The BIPC is for aspiring entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs across Bristol. It offers:
- free access to £5 million worth of business intelligence resources and databases including market research, grants, company data and reports
- business publications
- one to one sessions with advisors and experts, workshops and networking events
- intellectual property (IP) support to protect your ideas
- spaces to meet, study and research your business planning
Further information is available on our BIPC page
Vacant Commercial Property Group (VCPG)
The VCPG offer grants of up £10,000 to help SMEs to start trading from vacant commercial property located in Bristol's designated City Centre or one of 46 designated high streets.
Funding can be used for a range of capital costs including structural or physical works to the premises and the purchase of essential equipment needed to trade.
A wide variety of organisation types can apply including:
- limited businesses
- sole traders
- charities
- community interest companies
- voluntary organisations
- arts and culture groups
Check your eligibility on our Vacant commercial property grant scheme page. There you will find guidance notes, the application form and case studies of some projects supported through the grant.
West of England Growth Hub (WECA GH)
The WECA GH is a fully funded business support service dedicated to helping businesses across the region start, grow, and thrive. They offer free, tailored advice to connect you with the right programmes, funding opportunities, and expert support. This can help your business build skills, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable growth.
You can find out more and register for business support on the WECA GH website.
Produce West
Produce West is a regional initiative to support growth in the food, drink and hospitality sector.
Kitchen hire
If you're a food and drink producer looking for kitchen space to hire, then Produce West, a new kitchen brokerage service launched in February 2026 can help you.
Renting your kitchen space
If you own or manage a community or commercial kitchen that's currently under utilised, then you can get support to help you connect with food entrepreneurs looking for suitable space to hire. Guidance is available to help you take the steps to create additional income from your kitchen facility. You can register your interest on the Produce West website.
Technical support is available that can help with any aspect of product development, testing and scaling up. Whatever stage your business is at, this can help you turn your food or drink product or idea into a commercial product offer at whatever scale is right for you. Support can include:
- recipe development and ingredient selection
- equipment choice
- product labelling
- allergen awareness
- shelf life
- packaging
- food hygiene
Food Works SW can also help existing businesses needing accreditation such as SALSA so they can move into wholesale or supply to retailers. A package of funded support is available to help them achieve that.
Business start-up and development toolkit
Developed as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the city's economy, the toolkit is primarily intended to support businesses linked to Bristol's vibrant and diverse range of high streets and local centres. It contains lots of information for those starting a business and to those developing an existing one.
Go to our website for information about the statutory and regulatory services we provide for businesses.