By Richard Andrew

5th May 2020

Additional Coronavirus Support for Hospitality and Leisure

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New Funding

The Government has now announced a discretionary fund has been set up to accommodate certain small businesses in England previously outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme. This additional fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs and includes bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates.

Businesses must be small, fewer than 50 employees, and they must also be able to demonstrate that they have seen a significant drop of income due to Coronavirus restriction measures.

There will be three levels of grant payments. The maximum will be £25,000. There will also be grants of £10,000. Local authorities will have discretion to make payments of any amount under £10,000. It will be for councils to adapt this approach to local circumstances and further guidance for local authorities will be set out shortly, along with details of how to access the support.

This will be a major lifeline particularly for thousands of bed and breakfasts and small hospitality businesses who have seen a significant fall in income due to the Coronavirus and have previously fallen outside the scope of the support as they have been advised to pay council tax rather than business Rates.

In Scotland, a £100 million package of additional grant support from the Scottish Government for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and newly self-employed people has also been announced. The three separate funds will be administered by local authorities and Scotland’s enterprise agencies and they will begin to pay out grants in early May.

These new measures include the Creative or Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship fund, a £20 million fund for small and micro enterprises in the creative, tourism and hospitality sectors.

Am I eligible?

You must meet these criteria in order to apply:

• Your company has up to 49 employees
• You have experienced at least a 50% loss of current or projected revenue
• You were not in financial difficulty before 31 December 2019
• You are not in receipt of other COVID-19 government support, except the Furlough Scheme
• You are not a pre-revenue company
• You have a business bank account

There is no cost to apply and it will take up to 10 working days from application to appraisal and funds being released for approved applications.

Scottish businesses operating within the events industry, including those within the events supply chain, are being encouraged to review the criteria of these funds to determine if they are eligible. It is expected demand for the funds will be high and so looking into the support as soon as possible is advisable.

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