Five business grants available for businesses in England
On 12 November 2020, Secretary of State for BEIS, Alok Sharma, confirmed that the government is distributing £2.2 billion to local authorities in England for them to make grant payments to businesses.
We urge you to read about the five grants below which could be available to you and contact your Local Authority as soon as possible.
Find your Local Authority here
Local Restrictions Support Grant (for open businesses)
The government says this grant “supports businesses that have been severely impacted due to temporary local restrictions. Businesses that have not had to close but which have been severely impacted due to local restrictions (Local COVID alert levels: High or Very High) may be eligible.”
You could receive between £934 – £2,100 per 28-day period depending on your business property’s rateable value.
Your business may be eligible if it:
- is based in England
- is in an area subject to ‘High’ or ‘Very High’ local restrictions since 1 August 2020 and has been severely impacted because of the local restrictions
- was established before the introduction of Local COVID alert level: High restrictions
- has not had to close but has been impacted by local restrictions
Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses)
The government says “businesses in England that were open as usual and were then required to close due to local restrictions (local COVID alert level: Very High) may be eligible for the local restrictions support grant.”
You could receive between £667 – £1,500 for each 14-day period of closure depending on your business property’s rateable value.
Your business may be eligible if it:
- is based in England
- occupies property on which it pays business rates (and is the ratepayer)
- is in an area of local restrictions and has been required to close because of local restrictions that resulted in a first full day of closure on or after 9 September
- has been required to close for at least 14 days because of the restrictions
- has been unable to provide its usual in-person customer service from its premises
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed Addendum)
The government says this grant “supports businesses in England that have been required to close due to the national restrictions between 5 November and 2 December 2020.”
You could receive between £1,334 – £3,000 for each 28-day period under national restrictions, depending on your business property’s rateable value.
Your business may be eligible if it:
- is based in England
- occupies property on which it pays business rates (and is the ratepayer)
- has been required to close because of the national restrictions from 5 November to 2 December 2020
- has been unable to provide its usual in-person customer service from its premises.
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Sector)
The government says “businesses in England that have been required to close due to the national restrictions introduced in March 2020, and which have not been able to re-open, may be eligible.”
The businesses required to close from March 2020 are: nightclubs, discotheques, dance halls, and adult entertainment venues, and hostess bars.
You could receive between £667 – £1,500 for each 14-day period of closure depending on your business property’s rateable value. Eligible businesses can get one grant per non-domestic property.
Your business may be eligible if it:
- is based in England
- occupies property on which it pays business rates (and is the ratepayer)
- has been closed since 23 March 2020 because of national restrictions
Additional Restrictions Grant
The government says this grant “supports businesses that are not covered by other grant schemes or where additional funding is needed. The scheme provides local councils with grant funding to support closed businesses that do not directly pay business rates as well as businesses that do not have to close but which are impacted.”
It is up to each Local Authority to determine the eligibility criteria for this grant. However, they have been encouraged to help businesses which have not been forced to close but remain impacted.
These could include:
- businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors
- businesses in the events sector
- business required to close but which do not pay business rates
