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UK Shared Prosperity Fund

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The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central UK government programme, providing £2.6bn funding for cross-UK investment by March 2025.

The fund aims to improve pride in place, while increasing life chances, investing in communities, and supporting local business, people and skills.

London's UKSPF allocation

The UK government allocated London £144,444,970 for the 2022-25 three-year period. The Greater London Authority (GLA) is Lead Authority, managing London's UKSPF. It will work closely with London Council and borough partners to deliver the funds.

In July 2022 the GLA submitted the UKSPF Investment plan to UK government, which was approved on 5 December 2022.

Delivering London’s UKSPF allocation

London's £144,444,970 UKSPF allocation will be invested in three, cross-London areas:

  1. Supporting local business
  2. People and skills
  3. Boroughs

Supporting local business

In 2023, the Mayor invested £62m into 28 local projects, granting funding to London boroughs and London & Partners to support small businesses Londonwide – creating over 4,500 jobs across various sectors. 

This funding helps boost small business productivity, encouraging growth and increasing job opportunities while restoring sense of local pride.

This funding round is now closed. 

UK Shared Prosperity Funds were awarded to London & Partners, for three distinct business support programmes. Find out more about each below:

Grow London Early Stage

Grow London Early Stage is a free business support programme for early-stage growth companies in high growth sectors, who support sustainable and inclusive London growth.

It supports these companies to scale, create or retain jobs, and adopt new or improved products or services. The programme strongly focuses on supporting underrepresented founders.

It also acts as a single front door, for early-stage businesses to easily access the right advice and support. It's delivered with expert London ecosystem partners, in the following sectors:

  • net zero (Cleantech and climate tech start-ups focused on decarbonisation)
  • circular business access to public partnerships
  • sustainable fashion (start-ups focused on environmentally sustainable fashion)
  • aspiring exporters (focusing on under-represented founders)
  • life sciences
  • technology.

Grow London Global

Grow London Global is a free 12-month programme for London-based companies wanting to expand internationally. It's the Mayor’s International Business Programme successor, helping 1,300 London scaleups including Monzo, Bloom & Wild, Brompton Bicycles and Revolut reach global expansion goals.

The programme offers expert advice, workshops, events, and partner, corporate, investor and peer networking opportunities. It also offers unrivalled opportunity for valuable contacts, in target markets on worldwide trade missions.

Grow London Local

Grow London Local is London’s new single front door for small and micro business support. With a searchable provision database alongside AI-driven diagnostic tools, Grow London Local matches entrepreneurs to the right support for a thriving business.

For financially vulnerable entrepreneurs facing additional barriers - in particular those who are female, disabled or from Black, Asian or other Minority Ethnic groups - the programme has community- based Business Support Managers team. They provide in-person diagnostics and business support referrals.

In addition, Grow London Local markets its activity, engaging with local communities so entrepreneurs know the service exists for them.

 

People and skills

£38.1 million of London’s UKSPF is allocated to the Mayor’s People and Skills investment priority. It supports local growth, helping reduce some faced barriers to employment, supporting them to move towards this and education.

Activity is focused on two key priorities - employment support for:

  • economically inactive and unemployed people (particularly disadvantaged groups
  • young Londoners.

 

In 2024, the Mayor invested over £11m into 24 projects to support 4,000 Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) young people increase employability (Universal NEET and Targeted NEET strands) and 4,000 students gain quality work experience (work experience strand). You can find more details of all our projects on this page.

 

To focus and design the Support for Young Londoners bidding round, in spring 2023 the Mayor consulted over 300 stakeholders. This included skills and training providers, local authorities, schools, colleges, business representatives, voluntary and community sector organisations and young people with NEET experience, or who face other disadvantages.

Read a consultation findings summary report

The below prospectus and project requirement documents from the now-CLOSED Support for Young Londoners bidding round can be found below. Read the:

 

£25m has been directly allocated to the four Sub-Regional Partnerships (SRPs) and their Boroughs to support, by March 2025, 7,000 economically inactive* and unemployed Londoners, including benefit recipients, who require additional support outside mainstream provision. It offers them the skills they need to progress in work and life.

*Economically inactive refers to individuals who are not in work and not actively seeking work. 

The funded strands of activity are:

  • supporting disadvantaged groups
  • additional activities supporting the delivery of the ‘No Wrong Door’ initiative.

SRPs play a key role in delivering inclusive growth across the capital, bringing together local authorities, businesses, anchor institutions and communities on a range of issues. 

London’s SRPs include West London Alliance, South London Partnership, Central London Forward, and Local London (covering south-east and north-east London). 

 

 

 

London boroughs

London boroughs are being awarded funding from two UKSPF investment priorities, Communities and Place and Supporting Local Business.

The Communities and Place investment priority will enable places to invest to restore their community spaces and relationships and create the foundations for economic development at the neighbourhood-level. It aims to strengthen the social fabric of communities, supporting in building pride in place.

Funding for this strand is now closed.

Supporting information

Below is further information, including latest guidance documents and forms. 

The GLA  has hosted multiple UKSPF information webinars to date. Most recently, it hosted one in September 2023 for the 'Support for Young Londoners' bidding round. You can download this webinar recording below. 

UKSPF 'Support for young Londoners' webinar recording - September 2023

You can request event presentations by contacting us.
 

Each UKSPF lead authority must consult with a Local Partnership Group (LPG), of leading stakeholders commenting on investment plan strategic fit and deliverability. London's LPG is the London Partnership Board.  

The Board has considered and overseen in detail some UKSPF elements, sending some to a Local Partnership Sub-group. There is information below about this sub-group.

Any questions?

Our UKSPF frequently asked questions document answers key raised questions from stakeholders - it's regularly updated.

For any further London UKSPF questions, contact us on [email protected] 

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