Lockdown: Business Grants Available

1. Lockdown Grant – NEW  Following the Prime Minister’s announcement last night, the Chancellor has today announced a new grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.

Retail, hospitality and leisure business premises forced to close can claim a one-off grant of up to £9,000. The one-off additional grant each business premises will receive depends on their rateable value: Businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or above: £9,000 Businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000: £6,000 Businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or below: £4,000 Businesses can receive multiple grants, as they are eligible on a per premises basis. Local authorities will receive the funding for these one-off grants next week. A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities. The announcement of the grant is available here. We are awaiting full information from the Government on eligibility.

We will let you know as soon as we know how to apply for this grant.

2. Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) (Tier 4)

When we entered tier 4 on Boxing Day, businesses forced to close were eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant. Full details are available here. The Council has informed us that the application portal will be ready by the end of this week.  This grant is based on the rateable value of the property on the first full day of local restrictions. If your business has a property with a rateable value of £15,000 or less, you may be eligible for a cash grant of £667 for each 14 day period your business is closed. If your business has a property with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000, you may be eligible for a cash grant of £1,000 for each 14 day period your business is closed. If your business has a property with a rateable value of £51,000 or above, you may be eligible for a cash grant of £1,500 for each 14 day period your business is closed. The grant will be extended to cover each additional 14-day period of closure. If your business is closed for 28 days, or 2 payment cycles, it will receive £1,334, £2,000 or £3,000, depending on the rateable value of the property. Again, we will let you know as soon as this portal is live and how to apply.

3. Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) This is a discretionary scheme aimed primarily at those businesses within the hospitality, hotel, bed and breakfast and leisure sector who whilst open have experienced a significant impact on their business due to the current social distancing guidelines.  The Council are now accepting applications under the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) scheme for the periods 2nd December 2020 – 15th December 2020 and 16th December 2020 – 29th December 2020. These grants are for businesses within the hospitality and leisure sector who are open but have experienced a severe reduction in their income. For businesses who are rated payments under this scheme are as follows: Businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or less – £467 per 14 day period Businesses with a rateable value of £15,001 to £50,999 – £700 per 14 day period Businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or over – £1,050 per 14 day period Payments for the period 16 December 2020 – 29 December 2020 will not be made until the Council have received the funding from central government. Click here to apply.

4. Christmas Support for Wet Led Pubs

The Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs supports pubs that predominantly serve alcohol rather than provide food and have been severely impacted over the festive season due to temporary local restrictions.

Eligible businesses may be entitled to a one-off cash grant of £1,000 from their local council in areas under Tier 2 or Tier 3 local restrictions.

Local councils will use their discretion to identify the right businesses to receive this funding. You should be eligible if you are a wine bar, nightclub or cocktail venue.  

Your pub may be eligible if you:

• are based in England
• derive less than 50% of your sales from food
• are in an area subject to Tier 2 or Tier 3 local restrictions since 2 December 2020
• were established in the pub before 1 December 2020

Click here to apply.