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Business support measures in 2021: new lockdown grants for retail and hospitality sector
We begin 2021 finding ourselves in lockdown once more, and times are becoming increasingly difficult for many businesses struggling with the latest coronavirus restrictions. With this in mind, Nottingham chartered accountants Clayton & Brewill shares a round-up of the current business support measures available at the moment, including new lockdown grants of up to £9,000 per property for retail and hospitality firms.
New lockdown grants
The Chancellor has announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in a bid to help businesses through to the Spring. The grants, provided on a per-property basis, will range from £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of up to £15,000, to £9,000 for rateable values of over £51,000. A further £594m is 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.
Support for jobs
The Government has extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until the end of April 2021, covering the cost of 80 percent of the wages of furloughed employees for hours not worked. Employers will be asked to cover NICs and pension contributions.
It has also extended the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme until April 2021. The government is now providing a third SEISS grant, covering 80 percent of average trading profits between November and January 2021, capped at £7,500 in total. A fourth grant with also be introduced, to cover February to April, in due course.
Support for businesses
Businesses across the UK have until the end of March to access the following schemes:
- Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS): This scheme is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover. The maximum loan available is £50,000. You can apply for a loan if your business, is based in the UK, was established before 1 March 2020 and has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus. Find out more.
- Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS): This scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to access loans and other kinds of finance up to £5 million. The government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender and pays interest and any fees for the first 12 months. Find out more about eligibility criteria here.
- Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS): This scheme is designed to help medium and large sized businesses to access loans and other kinds of finance up to £200 million. The government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender. You can apply for a loan if your business is based in the UK and has an annual turnover of over £45 million. However, you must be able to show that your business has been affected by coronavirus and that the loan will enable you to trade out of any short-term to medium-term difficulty resulting from coronavirus. Further eligibility information can be found
You cannot apply for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme if you are already claiming through the CBILS or CLBILS. Eligibility criteria is very specific for each of these schemes. If you are unsure which scheme you are eligible for, please do get in touch with the Clayton & Brewill team. We will be happy to advise you on what will be most beneficial to your business.
Additional support
The Future Fund remains open until the end of January 2021, which issues convertible loans worth between £125,000 to £5 million to innovative companies which are facing financing difficulties due to the pandemic.
Using the Local Restrictions Support Grant, any business in England forced to close due to national or local restrictions can claim grants, via their local authority, of up to £3,000 per month, per business premises, depending on rateable value. Businesses that remain open, but are impacted by local restrictions, can also claim grants worth up to £2,100 a month.
The Trade Credit Reinsurance Scheme that ensures trade credit insurance coverage and credit limits are maintained during the coronavirus pandemic to help businesses to trade with confidence has been extended to June 2021.