Invest in West Lothian - June Newsletter
Welcome to the June edition of the Invest in West Lothian newsletter! In our newsletter, we will be sharing the latest news stories, funding opportunities, and events for businesses in West Lothian.
Here at Invest in West Lothian, we are committed to helping businesses in West Lothian grow by providing confidential and impartial advice, highlighting funding opportunities, and sharing helpful resources. We can help new and established businesses that are currently based in West Lothian, or are looking to relocate to the area. You can learn more about the support we offer by visiting www.investinwestlothian.com .
Celebrating Good News Stories in West Lothian
Applications are Now Open For the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2026
Businesses across the UK can now apply for the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2026!
The awards recognise outstanding achievements in the categories of Innovation, International Trade, Sustainable Development, and Promoting Opportunity through Social Mobility.
Award winners will be:
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Invited to a Royal reception
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Presented with the award by one of the King’s representatives
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Permitted to fly The King’s Awards flag at their main office and use the emblem on marketing materials
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Given a Grant of Appointment and a commemorative crystal trophy
This is a very exciting opportunity, with previous winners benefiting from worldwide recognition, increased commercial value, press coverage, and improved staff morale.
Applications close at 1pm on the 9th of September 2025 – we would love to see a West Lothian-based business recognised!
You can learn more about the awards and apply here.
Funding for Businesses in West Lothian
The Invest in West Lothian team have extensive experience of preparing funding packages for local businesses of all sizes. Each month, we will highlight a new funding opportunity that is currently available to eligible businesses in the area.
Time Limited Funding
In the 2024 – 2025 financial year, we were delighted to provide £645k of funding to West Lothian businesses, helping them grow and thrive. We are now accepting applications for new funding projects – this funding is time limited, and any projects must be completed by the 31st of January 2026.
Available funding includes our:
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Digital Development Grant – part funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, this grant is aimed at enhancing the digital capabilities of Scottish businesses. Eligible VAT registered business can receive a grant of up to £7.5k, against a total project cost of £15k. Businesses that are not VAT registered can apply for grants of up to £1k, against a project spend of £2k
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Low Carbon Grant – successful applicants of this grant can receive funding of up to £8k to help them overcome barriers unique to their net-zero journeys
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Project Grant – this is part funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is aimed at businesses looking to enhance their competitive edge through capacity building and efficiency improvements. Eligible businesses will receive funding of up to £7.5k, against at least £15k of eligible capital expenditure costs
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Trade Development Grant – with this grant, funding is available to help businesses attend exhibitions and grow their businesses wider than the local market. Eligible businesses can receive funding of up to 50% of eligible costs (ex VAT), up to a maximum of £2k. The minimum grant will be £250.
To learn more and view a full list of the funding opportunities available, click here.
Upcoming Events
We are delighted to be hosting the following free event in June:
Improve Your Business Marketing with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
This practical workshop will examine how Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) can help transform the creation of written and visual content for your organisation’s digital marketing and wider day to day business activities. This is taking place on Monday, the 16th of June, from 10:00am – 3:00pm at the Voluntary Sector Gateway West Lothian office in Bathgate.
To learn more and book your free space at any of our events, please click here.