As Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic continues to affect businesses across the UK, we wanted to take a time out to pull together a set of articles to put some helpful information, handy links and little tips together to help your business through this evolving situation.

Covid-19: Business Support Article 1 – Government Support
Covid-19: Business Support Article 2 – Devolved Government Support
Covid-19: Business Support Article 3 – Supporting Your Team

Small Business Rate Relief

Small business rate relief is available across the UK but does differ slightly for England, Scotland Wales & Northern Ireland. These schemes are managed through local councils.

England – Any business that has a commercial premises and is in receipt of a Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rate Relief (RRR) can receive a small business grant. If eligible, you will receive a one-off grant payment of £10,000.

An application is not needed as local authorities know who are in receipt of the rate relief and will get in touch with all businesses who are eligible. If eligible you should be contacted by the end of April.

Scotland – A 1.6% rate relief will be given to all non-domestic properties. In effect, this reverses the change in poundage for 2020-21. Again, application is not necessary, and this relief will be applied to your bill by your local council.

If you receive The Small Business Bonus Scheme Relief or Rural Relief you are eligible for a one-off grant of £10,000, but you can only apply for one grant even if you own more than one property.

This needs to be applied for. This can be done by filling in an application form on your local council website. Find out more on the scheme page here.

Wales – Small businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or less and who are eligible for the Small Business Rate Relief will receive a £10,000 grant.

You will need to pass on some information to the local council who will be administering this fund. You can find out more on this scheme here.

Northern Ireland – The scheme for Northern Ireland runs through Invest Northern Ireland and will provide any business eligible for Small Business Rate Relief to receive a £10,000 grant.
The registration form is now available on the Invest Northern Ireland website here.

Northern Ireland businesses will also not need to pay business rates in April, May & June which will not need to be repaid and will be shown as a 25% discount on the annual bill. This relief does not need to be applied for.

Retail, Hospitality & Leisure – Cash Grant

England – If your business is in one of these sectors you will be split into one of two categories depending on your rateable value
– Under £15,000 – Receive a grant of £10,000
– Between £15,001 and £51,000 – Receive a grant of £25,000

You don’t need to apply and grants will be administered through your local authority.

Scotland – If you run a business in one of these sectors in Scotland with a rateable value between £18,001 and £50,999 you will be able to apply for a one-off grant of £25,000

You will need to complete an application form with your local council. Information can be found on the scheme website here.

Wales – In these sectors in Wales, if your business has a rateable value of less than £12,000, you will receive a Small Business Rate Relief Grant of £10,000.

If your business is in these sectors but has a rateable value between £12,001 and £51,000 you will receive a grant to the value of £25,000

These grants are administered through your local council, who will require some information about your business. You can find out more here.

Northern Ireland – Businesses in Northern Ireland who operate in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors with a rateable value of £15,000 and £51,000 will receive a £25,000 grant.

Details of how to apply will be available on the Invest Northern Ireland website here soon.

Scottish Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF)

In Scotland, if you operate within the third sector and are at risk of closing due to reduction in income you can apply for the Third Sector Resilience Fund. The TSRF is offering grants from £5,000 and 0% interest loans from £50,000. You can get more information here.

Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme

£100m worth of loans starting at £5,000 up to £250,000 are being offered by the Welsh Government and the Development Bank of Wales.

These loans are being offered to businesses who have been trading more than two years and when you apply you will need to show that you could service the debt before the outbreak. These loans carry a 2% interest rate which is over six years but includes a 12-month interest re-payment holiday from the start. More information can be found here.

Welsh Economic Resilience Fund

A resilience fund to the value of £400m has been created by the Welsh Government. This will include
– Grants to micro-businesses and sole traders for £10,000
– Grants to small and medium-sized business for up to £100,000
– Support for larger companies who are of critical, social or economic importance to Wales.

The Welsh Government will be posting more information on their website over the coming weeks regarding this scheme. Find out more here.

Keep an eye out for our further Covid-19 business information articles coming later this week.

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