Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update.
Non-essential Shops in England Reopen
Business secretary Sharma has confirmed that non-essential shops in England are permitted to operate from Monday 15 June, provided they comply with government safety guidelines and carry out a risk assessment.
While the government is due to publish guidelines for other businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, and nail bars, we recently found these useful guidelines to reopening for various industries:
Government-backed Loans and Grants
If your business has been severely hit by COVID-19 and you need more support, the Government is giving small- and medium-sized businesses access to financial support through various initiatives such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), where you can get up to £50,000 no-interest loans for the first 12 months, and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which offers a maximum loan of £5 million made available through commercial banks.
To cover the impact of the crisis, there are also grants made available by the government such as the £1.25bn-worth Future Fund and R&D rescue package for fast growth businesses and smaller businesses with a Research & Development focus, as well as the Small Business Grant Fund, which is a one-off grant of £10,000 that supports small businesses that pay little or no business rates as a result of small business rate relief (SBBR), rural rate relief (RRR), and tapered relief.
If you’re unsure which option is suitable for your business, contact us today and let us help you evaluate your options.
What’s next?
Over the last few weeks we’ve brought you updates on various government initiatives and cash flow schemes aimed at helping employers keep their businesses afloat amid the COVID-19 situation. We’ll keep you updated as and when things change, but we now shift our focus to helping you and your business on the path to recovery. Please feel free to get in touch with us for more personalised business advice tailored to your situation.