PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UK GOVERNMENT

The UK’s BAME community is fantastically entrepreneurial, a vibrant sector containing countless small businesses – not only independent retailers but also related enterprises often run by spouses or family members, such as property development, clothing, opticians, dentists, accountants, restaurant and foodservice …

The Covid-19 lockdown has come as a hammer-blow to many small businesses who have found, too often, that their cash-flow has dried up while their bills continue to pile up.

But the UK government has planned for this and has been quick to respond with one of the world’s most comprehensive range of grants and loans – available to firms of all sizes – that can keep your business afloat until the lockdown is lifted and we can begin to return to normal.

Here is an overview of what’s on offer.

Benefits

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, available until October, means employees can be furloughed and you can apply for a grant covering 80% of wage costs, up to £2,500 a month.

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme means if you work for yourself and make less than £50k profits, you can claim a grant of 80% of your average monthly profit in a single instalment covering three months, capped at £7,500.

The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will repay employers the current rate of Statutory Sick Pay they outlay for periods of absence starting on or after 13 March.

VAT deferrals for UK VAT-registered firms means you can defer payments due alongside VAT returns until the end of June. If you have a payment due between 20 March and 30 June, you can pay later or as normal. HMRC will not charge interest or penalties on any amount deferred.

Business rates holiday and eviction protection – the Government has introduced a rates holiday for retail, hospitality, leisure and nurseries, meaning eligible properties in England will pay no business rates this year. Commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction.

Grants

The Small Business Grant Fund gives businesses in England £10,000 for each of their properties which is in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rates Relief.

The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund provides businesses in England with grants of up to £25,000 for each retail, hospitality or leisure property with a rateable value below £51,000.

On 1 May, the Government also allocated an additional £617m to local authorities to make discretionary grants to small businesses in England that have been excluded from the other grants. Local authorities are contacting eligible businesses directly to arrange payments, and if you haven’t yet heard from them then get in touch directly to ask about these payments.

Fine-dining Japanese restaurant, Myra’s Kaiseki, used The Business Support Grant (SBGF) to keep operating during the pandemic.

Paul Elgee, director of Myra’s Kaiseki, explains the measures they have taken: “We opened in 2016 and it has taken my wife and I four years to build the restaurant up from nothing. To keep operating we are trying to run a takeaway delivery and collection service from scratch, but that is only covering 25 per cent of our costs. The Business Support Grant we accessed through Dorset County Council allowed us to pay our suppliers and staff, so they are up to date.”

Loans

The Bounce Back Loans Scheme provides loans of up to £50,000 to small businesses, with 100% government-backed guarantees for lenders. It’s 0% interest for the first year and it’s easy to apply online with a short and simple form.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is UK-wide and up to £5m, also with no fees or interest for the first year. It provides your lender with an 80% government-backed guarantee.

The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme is for enterprises with annual turnover of more than £45 million per year, and you can apply for up to £25m.

The Future Fund will issue convertible loans between £125,000 to £5 million to innovative companies facing financing difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Don’t starve for staff! If your business needs to hire now, we can help fill your vacancies quickly and connect you with skilled and experienced people. Visit https://employerhelp.dwp.gov.uk/ to find out more.

“By keeping our doors open we weren’t helping the fight against Covid-19” says dentist Dr Kunal Patel, owner of Love Teeth in North Cheam. Instead he closed his surgery, donated all his PPE to the NHS and continued to pay his staff their full salaries because the practice did not qualify for the furlough scheme. Kumal applied for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBIL) through Lloyds bank instead, and received £250k to help him cover business costs during the lockdown.

“My staff are like family. It would have been disastrous if we had to lose any of them,” he says. “Now the team stands ready to be deployed when called upon.”