COVID19 Discretionary Grant Fund for Small Businesses

Has your business fallen through the cracks of the governments COVID19 funding? Last week the government announced an additional discretionary grant fund for small businesses. This grant is aimed to help those businesses which have fallen between the cracks of other grant schemes. This grant mostly targets small businesses with fixed property-related costs who do not qualify for the small business, hospitality, leisure or retail grants.

The government has given your local council the reins for this scheme, so the eligibility criteria may differ between councils.

As of yet, the Liverpool City Council is yet to disclose specific information in terms of eligibility and open dates, although you can register your interest by clicking on the link below:

Liverpool City Council COVID19 Discretionary Grant Fund

As a guide, the following information is based on the Manchester City Council’s (MCC) approach.

Online applications have been open from the 26th May 2020 to 9th June 2020. All applications will be reviewed after this date with the council aiming to pay grants as quickly as possible. Again, this is MCC’s application window, other councils may vary, for instance, Liverpool has yet to open their applications.

What you need to do:

As part of the application you will need to show and provide evidence that you meet the following essential criteria to qualify:

1. Ongoing fixed building-related costs of more than £1,500 per year that were in place before 11th March 2020;
2. Where trading at the start of the pandemic, specifically 11th March 2020;
3. That you are eligible for the grant; and
4. That the business has suffered a significant fall in income as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Small businesses must meet two of the following criteria:
• Turnover of less than £10.2m;
• A balance sheet total below £5.1m; or
• Less than 50 staff.

Microbusinesses must meet two of the following criteria:
• Turnover of less than £632,000;
• A balance sheet total below £316,000; or
• Less than 10 staff.

Businesses that have already applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or the Self Employment Income Support Scheme are still eligible to apply for this scheme.

For further information on the discretionary grants for small businesses please visit your local council website.

• Liverpool City Council COVID19 Support for Businesses & Employees
• Manchester City Council COVID19 Support for Businesses & Employees 

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