Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors that have been required to close due to national restrictions imposed by government as of 5 January 2021 may be eligible for a one-off grant of up to £9,000.
Announcing a new £4.6 billion package of measures to help businesses through the latest lockdown, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, stated that one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property will be provided to help businesses through to the Spring. In addition there is a £594 million discretionary fund also made available to support other impacted businesses.
The grants will be provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK.
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 one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:
- £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
- £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
- any business which is legally required to close, and which cannot operate effectively remotely, is eligible for a grant
Business support is a devolved policy and therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations, which will receive additional funding as a result of these announcements in the usual manner:
- the Scottish Government will receive £375 million
- the Welsh Government will receive £227 million
- the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £127 million
We will keep you up to date with further details as and when the Governments release information.
For further information about the CJRS and other measures announced by the Chancellor to protect individuals and businesses, visit: COVID-19: Support for UK businesses
For England, the eligibility guidance can be seen at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-your-business-is-eligible-for-a-coronavirus-grant-due-to-national-restrictions-for-closed-businesses