Starting a Business in Cork: Company Formation, LEO Grants and Accounting
Cork is the largest county in Ireland by population and the home of a deep pharma, biotech and technology base. It has three Local Enterprise Offices and two separate rating authorities, so where you set up inside the county changes which office and which council you deal with. This page collects the county-specific facts a founder needs, with sources, and explains how to register and keep the books from anywhere in Cork.
Local Enterprise Office Cork
Cork has three LEOs. LEO Cork City sits in Cork City Council at City Hall. LEO South Cork works from the Business Growth Hub on Carrigrohane Road. LEO Cork North and West works from Mallow and Clonakilty. Use the LEO location checker on corkcoco.ie if you are not sure which one covers your address.. Feasibility Grant: up to 50% of eligible costs or 15,000 euro, whichever is less, in the Southern and Eastern region, for businesses with no more than 10 employees (localgov.ie).. Priming Grant: for businesses in their first 18 months, up to 50% of the investment or 80,000 euro, whichever is less, with up to 150,000 euro in exceptional cases that can graduate to Enterprise Ireland or export (localgov.ie).. Business Expansion Grant: for businesses past the first 18 months, up to 50% of the investment, with the same 80,000 euro standard ceiling and 150,000 euro exceptional ceiling (localgov.ie).. Grow Digital Voucher: 50% of eligible digital costs, from 500 euro up to 5,000 euro, for businesses with 1 to 50 employees trading at least six months that have completed a Digital for Business report. This replaced the Trading Online Voucher, which closed to new applications on 13 December 2024.. Start Your Own Business course, free remote Business Advice Clinics and a mentoring programme are offered by all three Cork LEOs.. Sector programmes listed by the Cork LEOs include the Food Academy with SuperValu, Cork Incubator Kitchens for food start-ups (Cork North and West), the Kilkenny Design Makers Academy for craft and design businesses, and GradStart, which covers 50% of a graduate salary.
Register your company online from anywhere in Cork
Company formation with staxo is fully online. Limited Company from €199 and sole trader registration from €49, ex VAT.