As we find ourselves in another national lockdown, we will endeavour to guide you through the latest government support measures being made available, as we have done before. We have outlined our understanding of this current support below:
Grants
The government have announced further grants for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure 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 over £51,000
We understand that the new grants will be made by local councils- as was the case with the funding last November. We therefore advise you check your local authority’s website over the next few days for further information.
Third SEISS Grant
The deadline to apply for the third SEISS grant is 29th January 2021. The eligibility criteria are the same as for the previous 2 grants and you can apply for this one (as long as you are eligible) even if you haven’t applied for a grant previously.
BounceBack loans
The government have extended the application deadline for BounceBack loans. The scheme is now open until 31 March 2021 and you can borrow up to 25% of your turnover (capped at £50,000).
If you originally borrowed less than the maximum available to you, you can now apply for a ‘top-up’ loan for the difference. The application has to be made with the same lender your original loan was with and you can only make one top-up application. The additional borrowing must be at least £1,000 and the capital repayment holiday will still run for 12 months from your original loan date, not the top-up application.
Coronavirus Job Retention (Furlough) Scheme
As announced on 17th December, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), will be extended until 30th April 2021. The government will continue to fund 80% of employee’s salaries (subject to cap of £2,500), for unworked hours, with employers only needing to pay employer national insurance and pension contributions. It’s important to note that you can access this extended scheme even if the employer or employee have not previously used the scheme.
In line with government guidelines, our offices are closed, while the team continue to work remotely. We will be able to arrange for client record drop offs and collections at the office as necessary so, if you are unable to email or upload documents to OpenSpace, please contact the team.
Please contact the team as usual should you need any assistance.