Business Opportunities
Business Opportunites is a selection of business suppliers that may be of interest to Postmasters
Cardgains
Join Cardgains – Support for Post Office Branches in Cards & Gifts
At Cardgains, we help independent retailers, including Post Office branches, grow their greeting card and gift sales through improved supplier terms, simplified admin, and expert support.
For over 35 years, we’ve supported thousands of retailers across the UK by providing access to exclusive discounts, better payment options, and a wide network of trusted suppliers, without compromising independence.
What You’ll Gain as a Member:
Stronger Margins: Access exclusive deals and offers from top suppliers to boost your profitability.
Less Admin: Benefit from consolidated invoices and centralised support, saving you time and hassle.
Trusted Supplier Network: Connect with leading names in cards, gifts, and seasonal ranges, backed by long-standing partnerships.
Expert Guidance: Our team is on hand to support your branch with practical advice and industry insight.
Your Independence, Respected: You stay in control. We’re simply here to help you trade smarter and grow with confidence.
Cardgains: Supporting Post Offices to grow with less hassle and more profit. Let’s work together to make the most of your retail space. Visit our website or email info@cardgains.co.uk for more information.
If you are an independent retailer and would like to know more about Cardgains or wish to join you can contact our office on 0114 249 0333 for further details and information.
Funding opportunities and business support for postmasters
This guide outlines some of the different opportunities that could be available to postmasters to access funding and/or support. These schemes are independent of and to Post Office Limited.
Different funding bodies vary in the types of organisations that they support; whether the business is set up as a limited company, is operated by a sole trader, or run as a social enterprise or charity. There is list of definitions included below.
There are varying types of funding, whether an un-restricted grant that can be used for any activity or operating costs, or project ‘restricted’ grants which don’t need to be repaid, business loans, or social investment. Organisations may use social investment to increase their sustainability and impact, perhaps by purchasing an asset, developing a product, expanding their team or improving their cashflow.
General Suggestions
· Searching on grant and funding databases e.g.
o The Government Grants Service: Find a grant
o GrantFinder: Latest Business Funding Grants
o Subscribe to Funds Online
o My Funding Central for charities and VCSEs in England (subscription starts at £50)
o 360Giving GrantNav open, standardised grants data to improve charitable giving
o NCVO offer recommended steps for searching for grants
o 150 UK small business grants to apply for right now
· Business Board Network Growth Hubs | The Business Board Network
· Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme can be used by small businesses to go towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. SMEs can claim £4,500.
· Plunkett UK offers support for community businesses raising funds through donations, grants, shares, loans and crowdfunding - Plunkett_CommBus_Raising-Funds_final.pdf
· Corporate organisations sometimes offer funding to community organisations (organisations set up to improve their local society in some way), often through their charitable foundations such as the Asda Foundation or Co-op Foundation.
Social Finance
· Good Finance offers helpful information around social investment for any Post Offices run as a charity, or social enterprise.
· Better Society Capital - impact investing providing repayable finance to enterprises with a social purpose like charities and social enterprises.
· Reach Fund helps charities, social enterprises, and community businesses raise social investment or community shares by offering grants on average between £5,000 and £15,000.
Community Business
A community business can be any type of business that trades products and services. Run by local people for the benefit of the local community.
· Power to Change support communities in England run businesses
· Community share issues allow residents and businesses to invest in Community Benefit Societies, demonstrating community support and raising funds. Co-operatives UK offers support for community share offers, including guidance and resources for specific regions
Case Study
An example in the Post Office network is Smarden Community Store which, following the closure of the post office and shop, was revived by residents after they raised funds to build a new store with post office and café services. Around £90k was invested by 311 investors from the community and small businesses and a loan of £75,000 was secured from Kent Community Foundation. The Community Shares Booster Programme awarded the store a development grant of £8,300 and a booster investment of £85,325.
Now a Community Benefit Society, Smarden Store offers a range of groceries and household goods to local people. Due to popular demand, the store currently has an open-ended share offer, inviting more residents within the community to become members.
General funding options
· The School for Social Entrepreneurs offers grant and learning programmes to equip people to start, scale, and strengthen organisations that make a positive difference.
· National Lottery Heritage Grants for projects up to 5 years from £10,000 to £250,000 for organisations looking to care for and sustain heritage in the UK. Available to not-for-profit organisations, private owner of a heritage asset or a partnership considering four investment principles (saving heritage, protecting the environment, inclusion, access and participation or organisational sustainability. There is also Business Support Funding but this is currently closed.
· The National Lottery Community Fund funds projects helping bring diverse communities together.
· UnLtd open to the founder and lead of social ventures, 16 years old or older and in the UK - the Funding Futures Programme (16–30-year-olds) and the Millennium Awards Trust. Both programmes offer up to £8,000 for those ‘Starting Up’ and up to £18,000 for those ‘Scaling Up’.
· Social Business Wales via UnLtd - support for people that identify as a marginalised individual.
· The King’s Trust (formerly The Prince's Trust) offers grants and loans to 16 to 30-year-olds.
· Innovate UK Business Growth offers UK business owners funded, bespoke support, to help grow their companies, including exploiting innovation, intellectual property, and connections in the UK and abroad, entering new markets, accessing funding and finance and getting investment ready.
Environmental Funding and Support
· National Lottery Climate Action Fund - Our Shared Future supports communities to be environmentally sustainable.
· WRAP - manage grants, loans and investments to help increase the use of recycled materials, growing recycling capacity or overcoming specific market failures by acting as a catalyst to encourage other funders to invest: Grants and investments - The Waste and Resources Action Programme.
· There are schemes supporting the agenda to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. There are many grants and subsidies offered either through the Government or via the banks that support businesses in this space;
o SSE Energy pulled together this helpful guide on small business grants: A list of sustainable funding opportunities
There may also be local schemes in individual areas such as;
o Net Zero Worcestershire - districts have potential to receive up to £100,000 for eligible energy efficiency projects (excluding renewable technology). Grants are awarded on a competitive and match-funded basis, meaning the business will need to provide at least 25–50% of the total cost of the project. The grant can be used to fund a variety of business activities, e.g. lighting / insulation / renewable tech / energy efficiency equipment or management etc.
· Groundwork supports communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience, particularly for green-focused activities.
Foundations
Charitable foundations providing grants to non-profit organizations to support their work. Some examples of bigger foundations include;
· Garfield Weston Foundation: Home - Garfield Weston Foundation
· Esmée Fairburn Foundation funds around three main areas, one of which is Creative, Confident Communities | Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The minimum amount offered is £30,000 however turnover needs to be over £100,000. The organisation needs to be a registered charity or have an asset lock or other way to make sure that the assets of an organisation, including profits or surpluses generated, can only be used for the benefit of its community or to further its activities and mission.
· The Clothworkers’ Foundation funding for capital projects
Geography Specific Grant Funding
There are a range of local grants available in each local area, searchable online, but below are some examples to consider.
· Local Economic Development teams (searchable through local authorities)
· Local Authority Funding offering community-based funding and grants for activities for young people, volunteer programmes and development of communal facilities. Visit the Apply for Funding for Community Projects site by clicking 'Start new application', enter your postcode to be directed to potential grants from your Local Authority.
· Local Growth Hubs e.g. Norfolk and Suffolk business support
· HS2 Funds - Community and Environment Fund for the voluntary/community sector supporting the provision of enhanced or new community facilities and refurbishment/re-use of historic buildings and monuments. The Business and Local Economy Fund is targeted at organisations which have formal objectives that support the development of local business/tourism. Initiatives supported include promotional activity for local economic benefit, creating and running events that maintain or increase regular footfall, projects that aim to maintain or increase tourist visits to an area.
· Malvern Hills Tourism Grant Scheme to help develop the local tourism industry within specific areas to help increase visitor numbers and improve the visitor experience. Eligible businesses can apply for a 50% match-funded grant up to £2,500. The grant scheme will allow for more grants to be provided towards projects enabling tourism and hospitality businesses to improve their green credentials across the Malvern Hills district.
· Andover & Romsey - Independent Retailer Grant | Test Valley Borough Council
· Elmbridge Business Boost Grants - up to £2,000 available to help businesses improve shop fronts or signage or help bring a shop that has been empty for at least 3 months back into commercial use and up to £1,000 to help projects to drive new footfall, investment, street scene improvements or sustainability. All applications need at least 50% match funding and 2 quotes for each element.
Other organisations and resources for support
· Plunkett UK – a national charity offering funded support to people in rural areas to set up and run a wide range of businesses in community ownership: Plunkett UK
· Locality- a national membership network supporting local community organisations to be strong and successful, providing specialist advice, peer-learning, resources and campaigns to help every community thrive, including to take over and run assets for the benefit of local people
Definitions
· Social enterprise - not a legal structure but a way of doing business. Defined (by Government) as “a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners".
· Limited company - legally separate from the people who own it, and a company director is responsible for running the business.
· A charity - must have specific aims (known as charitable purposes)
· Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) - a legal structure for charities in the UK. It's an incorporated entity, meaning it has a separate legal personality from its members, but it's not a company and not subject to company law regulations.
· Co-operative - a business or organisation that is democratically owned and controlled by its members, to meet their shared needs. The members can be its customers, employees, residents or suppliers, who have a say in how the co-op is run. The International Cooperative Alliance unites, represents and serves cooperatives and the society will sign up to its values and principles.
· Community Interest Company (CIC) - a CIC is a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders. It is a non-charitable social enterprise and is not a charity.
· Community Benefit Society (CBS) - formed for the benefit of people who are not members of the society, and this must be in the interest of the community at large.
Community Benefit Societies (CBSs) and Community Interest Companies (CICs) are both structures for businesses operating to benefit the community but have key differences. CBSs are co-operative societies registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and prioritize community benefit over private profit. CICs, on the other hand, are limited companies regulated by the CIC Regulator, with a primary focus on community benefit, but can also include elements of private ownership.
· Community Foundation - this model is based on 'place', meaning that grants are distributed according to the needs of a neighbourhood or region in which the foundation is based, rather than assuming to know community issues from a national position.
· Sole Trader - the simplest business structure to set up – you work for yourself, are classed as self-employed and make all the business decisions.
· Business Partnership - you and your partner (or partners) share responsibility for your business. This includes any losses your business makes. Partners share the business’s profits. A partner doesn't have to be an actual person, for example, a limited company counts as a ‘legal person’.
· Social finance – such as loans or equity, provided to organizations, often social enterprises or charities, to help them achieve their social mission alongside a financial return for the investor
Business Utility Agents
You can't control the market, but you can control costs!
If you haven’t been hit by increased energy prices yet, it’s just a matter of time. There’s only so much you can do to reduce the amount of energy you use. But there’s one more thing you can do to reduce the impact – ask Paul Mills from Utilitrack to help you find your next electricity or gas contract.
Whether this means staying with your existing supplier or switching to a new supplier, Utilitrack will give you choices by managing a bespoke energy tender with a panel of energy suppliers. You’ll then see the results in an easy to understand Market Comparison Report.
There are no up-front fees as we are paid a commission, much like an insurance broker. What’s more, we’ll ‘level the playing field’ by showing projected annual costs – something individual suppliers can be reluctant to do.
The result – you could save hours of research time and avoid the more expensive contracts
Accepted Card Payments
Thanks to many SPMr’s my business has nearly doubled in size over the last 12 months. Many of my new customers have come through personal recommendations and for that I am grateful. I know times are tough in our shops/post offices with all costs going up but hang in there guys as what we all do for our communities is worth it!! If I can help reduce your cost on your payment terminal feel free to get in touch u will always do my best for you
Moneygram
We have held talks with Moneygram, and are now happy to point Postmasters to sign up with Moneygram.
If you previously used to do a reasonable amount of Moneygram transactions, then this may be for you.
We would be delighted if you would like to work with MoneyGram directly!
If so, please send an email with your details to the following address ukretail@moneygram.com and someone will be in contact with you as soon as possible.
Alternatively, please complete your details at the following link https://corporate.moneygram.com/become-an-agent/
Best regards and we hope to hear from you very soon.
The MoneyGram team.
These transactions must take place on your retail Side.