Latest Grant Information For Business
The Acton BID aims to keep our members informed on all the latest information that can help your business. Today’s business update is the financial support for businesses announced by the government last week.
Financial support for businesses
The government recently announced extensions to furlough, self-employed support, business grants, loans and VAT cuts.
Business rates relief
The 100% expanded retail discount (for retail, hospitality and leisure properties) will continue until the end of June 2021. A discount of two-thirds will then continue for the remainder of the year, up to a value of £2,000,000 for closed businesses, with a lower cap (£105,000) for those who have been able to stay open. Nurseries will also qualify for the relief in the same way as other eligible properties.
Business rates bills will be held back for likely recipients of these reliefs. Other annual bills for businesses will be issued in the usual way from 15 March 2021. You can read more here on the council’s website for more information.
Business grants
A new Restart Grant scheme will replace local restrictions support grant (closed) and local restrictions support grant (open) from April 2021 and is aimed at the following businesses:
· Non-essential retail – to receive grants of up to £6,000 per premises
· Hospitality and leisure, including personal care sector and gyms – to receive grants of up to £18,000 per premises.
The council is still waiting for more details from the government and we will share more information as soon as we receive it.
Additional Restriction Grant (ARG)
The council is now inviting Businesses in Ealing to apply for three of six grants to help offset the financial burden caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Three grant schemes are targeted at businesses who have been severely impacted by the downturn in the aviation sector and its vast network of supply chain businesses, the creative, digital and cultural economy and a covid hardship scheme.
The ARG Discretionary Grant scheme is a fund awarded to the council to help local businesses who are not eligible for other forms of financial support and have fixed ongoing costs such as rent or mortgage payments, loans or lease agreements for capital equipment or rental of workspaces.
Each of the business grants has a separate application window and further details of each can be found on the council’s website. Here below are the three available funding categories for local businesses:
1. Aviation sector grant – open to businesses across all sectors, including home-based businesses, self-employed, freelancers and businesses that supply Heathrow Airport or service the multiple sectors linked to the airport and rely upon the aviation economy across the borough.
2. Cultural sector grant – open to cultural organisations and individual creatives who work in the creative and digital industries, the arts and businesses who contribute to the borough’s cultural economy.
3. Covid hardship grant – for businesses that have suffered financial hardship as a result of the Covid pandemic. Eligibility criteria apply.
If you have been unable to receive funding up to this point, we would encourage you to carefully review the funding categories and apply as quickly as possible to ensure that you don’t miss out. You can read more about the schemes and find a link to the application page here.
We are here to help and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us by Email: info@youractonbid.co.uk or Telephone: 020 8825 6312.