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Coronavirus: Government Support for UK Businesses

(Updated 17th March 2021)

Grants

An obvious reason to pursue a grant is that you don't have to pay it back. You should always explore the advantages of grants before loans and if necessary use both depending on your situation.

Here is more information on the grants on offer:

Self Employed Income Support Scheme

What: SEISS
How much: up to £7,500
Deadline: 31 May 2021

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant

The UK government recognises the continued impact that coronavirus (COVID-19) has had on the self-employed and announced in November that there would be a fourth grant.

At the Budget it was confirmed that the fourth SEISS grant will be set at 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment, capped at £7,500. The fourth grant will take into account 2019 to 2020 tax returns and will be open to those who became self-employed in tax year 2019 to 2020. The rest of the eligibility criteria remain unchanged.

Eligibility:

To be eligible for the fourth grant you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership.

To work out your eligibility we will first look at your 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment tax return. Your trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to your non-trading income.

If you’re not eligible based on your 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment tax return, we will then look at the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020.

Find out more

Kickstart Scheme Grant

What: Kickstart Scheme
How much: £1,500 funding per job placement
Deadline: December 2021

Kickstart Scheme Grant Funding

If you are an employer looking to create job placements for young people, apply for funding as part of the Kickstart Scheme. The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:

  • 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months
  • Associated employer National Insurance contributions
  • Employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.

Employers can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021. You’ll get £1,500 funding per job placement. This is for setup costs and to support the young person develop their employability skills. If someone else helps you to do some of this for you, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money. 

Eligibility: Employers of all sizes can apply for funding. 

Find out more

Local Restrictions Support Grant

What: LRSG
How much: up to £9,000
Deadline: N/A

Local Restrictions Support Grant

Chancellor has announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring. All businesses need to apply for a grant through their local authorities. The Government is giving the new funds to councils to distribute to businesses large and small, as it did back in November during the second national lockdown. One-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring. The cash is 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. 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

Eligibility: 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.

Click find out more for the link to the Government website to find the right local authority for application.

Find out more      

Loans

Loans on offer depend on your circumstances. It is advisable to analyse your cash flow for the next 6-12 months, taking into account the current climate. How many customers can you serve in the next few months if covid restrictions continue? Be very wary if you need to add any element of a personal guarantee and take advice where needed. A loan could help tide you over, but just ensure it works for your evolving business too.

Here is more information on the loans on offer:

Recovery Loan Scheme

The Recovery Loan Scheme will ensure businesses continue to benefit from Government-guaranteed finance throughout 2021.
Deadline: 31 December 2021

With non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality reopening next week, Ministers have ensured that appropriate support is still available to businesses to protect jobs. From today, businesses – ranging from coffee shops and restaurants, to hairdressers and gyms – and can access loans varying in size from £25,000, up to a maximum of £10 million. Invoice and asset finance is available from £1,000.

This is in addition to furlough being extended until 30 September, and the New Restart Grants scheme launched last week, providing funding of up to £18,000 to eligible businesses. The Government is also supplementing this with the Plan for Jobs, focused on protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country through the Kickstart scheme, T-level and a National Careers Service.

The scheme, which was announced at budget and runs until 31 December 2021, will be administered by the British Business Bank, with loans available through a diverse network of accredited commercial lenders. 26 lenders have already been accredited for day one of the scheme, with more to come shortly, and the government will provide an 80% guarantee for all loans. Interest rates have been capped at 14.99% and are expected to be much lower than that in the vast majority of cases, and Ministers are urging lenders to ensure they keep rates down to help protect jobs.

The Recovery Loan Scheme can be used as an additional loan on top of support received from the emergency schemes – such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme – put into place last year.

Find out more

Bounce Back Loans

Small firms will be able to take out interest free loans worth up to £50,000 under a new emergency micro-loans scheme.
Deadline: d̶e̶a̶d̶l̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶d̶


 New “bounce-back” loans will be 100 per cent guaranteed by the Government. The Government will cover the interest on the loans for the first 12 months, with firms able to pay back the remaining balance over the next five years at “very low” interest rates. This scheme will help small and medium-sized businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to apply for loans of up to £50,000.

Eligibility:

Your business must be able to selfdeclare to the lender that it:

  • Has been impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
  • Was not a business in difficulty at 31 December 2019 (if it was, you must confirm your business complies with additional state aid restrictions under de minimis state aid rules)
  • Is engaged in trading or commercial activity in the UK and was established by 1 March 2020
  • Is not using the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) or the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility Scheme (CCFF), unless the Bounce Back Loan will refinance the whole of the CBILS, CLBILS or CCFF facility
  • Is not in bankruptcy or liquidation at the time it submits its application for finance
  • Derives more than 50% of its income from its trading activity (this requirement does not apply to charities or further-education colleges)
  • Is not in a restricted sector 

Find out more

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) supports small and medium-sized businesses, with an annual turnover of up to £45 million, to access loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance of up to £5 million for a period of up to 6 years.
Deadline: d̶e̶a̶d̶l̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶d̶

The Government will also make a Business Interruption Payment to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees. This means smaller businesses will benefit from no upfront costs and lower initial repayments.

The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to pre-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to small and medium-sized businesses.

The scheme is delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the government-owned British Business Bank.

Eligibility:

Your business must:

  • Be UK-based in its business activity
  • Have an annual turnover of no more than £45 million
  • Have a borrowing proposal which the lender would consider viable, were it not for the current pandemic
  • Self-certify that it has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Not have been classed as a “business in difficulty”, if applying to borrow £30,000 or more

Find out more

Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme

A government-backed loan scheme for large businesses affected by coronavirus for firms with a turnover of more than £45 million.
Deadline: d̶e̶a̶d̶l̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶d̶

As of 26th May, 2020, companies who qualify will now be able to apply for up to £200 million of finance, with certain restrictions. To apply, companies must choose a lender who is accredited by the scheme.

Eligibility:

Your business must:

  • Be UK-based in its business activity
  • Have an annual turnover of more than £45 million
  • Have a borrowing proposal which the lender would consider viable, were it not for the current pandemic, and for which the lender believes the provision of finance will enable the business to trade out of any short-term to medium-term difficulty
  • Self-certify that it has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Not have received a facility under the Bank of England’s COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF), or CBILS or BBLS.

Lenders will need further information to confirm eligibility. All lending decisions remain fully delegated to the accredited lenders.

Businesses from any sector can apply, except the following:

  • Credit institutions (falling within the remit of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive), insurers and reinsurers (but not insurance brokers)
  • Building societies
  • Public-sector bodies
  • State-funded primary and secondary schools

Find out more

Future Fund- convertible loan

The Government has announced an extension to the Future Fund.
Deadline: d̶e̶a̶d̶l̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶d̶

The Future Fund provides government loans to UK-based companies ranging from £125,000 to £5 million, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors.

These convertible loans may be an option for businesses that rely on equity investment and are unable to access other government business support programmes because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit.

Eligibility: 

Your business is eligible if:

  • It is UK-incorporated – if your business is part of a corporate group, only the parent company is eligible
  • It has raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third-party investors in the last 5 years
  • None of its shares are traded on a regulated market, multilateral trading facility or other listing venue
  • It was incorporated on or before 31 December 2019
  • At least one of the following is true:
    • half or more employees are UK-based
    • half or more revenues are from UK sales

Find out more

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