Some businesses with properties found they couldn’t claim the COVID19 grants of £10,000 and £25,000 that were announced for businesses.
The government has now announced that they have topped up the funding available. There will be three levels of funding, the maximum being £25,000 and local authorities will have full discretion to pay amounts under £10,000. The grants will be aimed at businesses with ongoing fixed property related costs. Obviously you cannot claim this if you qualify for the existing £10,000 or £25,000 grant.
Businesses must be small, under 50 employees, and they must also be able to demonstrate that they have seen a significant drop of income due to Coronavirus restriction measures.
Local authorities are asked to prioritise the following businesses with properties:-
- shared spaces
- regular market traders
- small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief
- and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates.
However local authorities may choose to make payments to other businesses based on local economic need.
The full details are not available yet, so it is difficult to know how useful this top up will be. Local authorities will find out this week how much they will receive. Hopefully we will find out more about it over the coming week as well.