The government is to provide an additional £617million worth of discretionary funding to help co-working space tenants and market traders who previously did not qualify for coronavirus business rates grant scheme.
The money will be provided to local authorities to distribute to small businesses. There will be three levels of grant payments between £10,000 – £25,000. Additionally, local authorities can decide to pay out amounts of less than £10,000 at their discretion to businesses, depending on local needs, if they don’t automatically qualify for the fund. However, the government is asking that they prioritise the qualifying businesses for this new scheme.
Qualifying businesses include:
- Shared space businesses
- Regular market traders
- Small charity properties
- B&Bs that pay council tax
They must be small (under 50 employees) and they must be able to show that they have had a drop in income due to coronavirus lockdown measures.
Further guidance will be set out shortly for local authorities.
If you have been affected by coronavirus and are not currently eligible for any of the previously announced schemes it may be worth contacting your local council to see if they are providing discretionary grants.
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