Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFI)

The UK Government can offer SFI to overseas owned and domestic companies opening a new plant, expanding or modernising an existing plant in the Assisted Areas of Great Britain (GB). The aim of the scheme is to encourage investment in projects that lead to long-term improvements in productivity, skills and employment.

SFI is a discretionary grant available to both manufacturing and service sector projects which meet certain requirements:

• The project must demonstrate improvement in productivity and skills
• The project must make economic and commercial sense
• It must take place in an assisted area. Most of the major industrial and commercial centres in the North East of England have assisted area status
• It would normally involve capital expenditure and create or safeguard jobs in the area
• It should be of net benefit to the UK economy as a whole
• The grant should enhance the project in some way, for example by allowing it to go ahead in the UK as opposed to an alternative location, or by compensating for additional risk
• The amount of assistance available under SFI is the minimum necessary to enable the project to go ahead in the UK. In practice it is closely linked with capital expenditure and the number of jobs which the project creates.

The map shown on the right hand side shows the Assisted Area coverage for the North East from 1 January 2007.  The maximum grant available is:

• Small companies (50 employees or less); 35%
• Medium companies (between 50 and 250 employees; 25%
• Large companies (more than 250 employees); 15%

You can check if you fall within the Assisted Area by using the DTI postcode database.

Assistance is usually given in the form of a grant. The value of the grant is based on a project's capital expenditure costs and the number of jobs it is expected to create or safeguard. Grant is negotiated as the minimum necessary to enable the project to go ahead in the form proposed.

Grant is normally paid in instalments, linked to the creation of jobs, capital expenditure and to the project's progress. Eligible costs include: land purchase; site preparation and buildings; plant and machinery. Other costs such as patent rights, professional fees, installation and reinstallation of machinery may also qualify.

Further details are available from the DTI Regional Investment website or by contacting the Business Finance Team within One NorthEast. Or alternatively, please call 0191 229 6334.

One NorthEast is responsible for the monitoring of the Enterprise Grant (EG) scheme and the Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) scheme both of which have been replaced by the SFI scheme.

Supporting Documents and Downloads

Terms of engagement for accountants reports on SFI claims [doc] (73 KB)

SFI Guidance Notes [pdf] (682 KB)

SFI Application Form [doc] (505 KB)

SFI Financial Appendices [xls] (86 KB)

SFI Claim Form [doc] (177 KB)

RSA Claim Form [doc] (137 KB)

EG Claim Form [doc] (140 KB)

SME Self Declaration [pdf] (1.16 MB)