More than £6.1 billion has been paid out to almost 500,000 business properties under the Government’s Small Business Grant Fund, official figures have revealed.
It means that just under half of eligible properties have received a share of the £12.3 billion fund distributed by local authorities.
Under the coronavirus business support scheme, commercial properties eligible for relief under the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme (including those with a rateable value between £12,000 and £15,000 which receive tapered relief) or the Rural Rate Relief Scheme are able to claim a grant of £10,000.
Meanwhile, retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount scheme and with a rateable value of less than £51,000 are eligible to receive a grant of £10,000 or £25,000.
The grant fund is provided in respect of each hereditament, meaning a business with multiple properties may be eligible to receive more than one grant. To find out more information about the small business grant fund, please click here.
The report comes after recent figures revealed that just one per cent of businesses have successfully accessed the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
According to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) research, just one per cent of firms had successfully accessed the CBILS as of last week, while a further eight per cent were rejected for finance. Those that were unsuccessful said the “complexity of the application process” and lack of communication from the administrating body was to blame.
For help and advice applying for grant funding or any other capital scheme, please get in touch with our expert team.