COVID-19 Top Up Grant Update

Government Top Up grants – Brighton and Hove

Total Fund of £3.7m available

• This is discretionary fund so all criteria below are for guidance and represent Brighton and Hove City Councils areas of interest. Other councils may differ.

Eligibility

• General Eligibility – business should be in one of these categories:

• • Events
  • Arts, culture and the creative industries
  • Retail
  • Businesses in shared work spaces and those who manage shared work spaces
  • Charities, Community Interest Companies and third sector organisations who undertake commercial operations
  • Businesses with high fixed costs that do not pay business rates
  • Locally based businesses in leisure including bed & breakfasts
  • Locally based long established companies that have invested in their business
  • Market traders with fixed locations in the city and with fixed costs
  • Businesses employing 20 to 50 employees or with high turnover

• 3 levels:

• • £25,000
    • employ more than 20 employees or;
    • have a rateable value of over £51,000pa or;
    • have significant fixed costs (e.g. rent, rate, mortgage, loans)
  • £10,000
    • have a rateable value of less than £51,000 or;
    • do not pay business rates but have fixed costs or;
    • pay business rates and have fixed costs
  • £2,500
    • sole traders or;
    • market traders with fixed locations or;
    • bed & breakfast guest houses.

• You cannot get this Top Up grant if you:

• • have already received a Covid-19 business support grant (i.e. the one based on your rates bill)
  • have been declared insolvent
  • ceased trading before the 11 March 2020
  • were in financial difficulty before December 2019 (defined as couldn’t pay your debts when they fell due or had more liabilities than assets)
  • have over 50 employees
  • have no fixed costs (e.g. rates, rent, mortgage)
  • Short term residential and holiday lets (e.g. Air BnB’s)
  • National/International chains

 

Application

• The application will be assessed against these criteria so give this some consideration on your application form:

• • Local economic importance–number of jobs saved, delivering essential services, businesses with a record of supporting city resilience during the Covid-19 crisis, community/social value, importance to a local area
  • Supporting the city’s economic success -through wage levels, generation of employment, levels of export (a marker of business resilience), able to demonstrate business innovation (creating new products or services)
  • Supporting key sectors/sub-sectors-the role the business plays in local networks such as providing services or as a link in a chain that creates or delivers products or services, integral to the delivery of city strategies such as skills training delivery
  • Commitment to a carbon neutral city -what actions has the business taken to reduce carbon emissions, (for example; reuse/recycling of materials, waste management, use of sustainable transport for staff/products)
  • Impact-loss of the business leading to additional costs to the city, e.g. avoiding the need to recommission a service or procure the service from other suppliers
  • Levels of future investment-evidence of investment during the last 12 months in upgrades to premises, new equipment, staff training and apprenticeships, new modes of operation such as investment in digitisation or other forms of diversification
  • Purpose-able to explain what they are using the money for, evidence that they have coherent plans for the future of the business and evidence that the business has a viable future.

• Evidence to back up your claim:

• • Current bank statements
  • 12 cashflow forecast on template provided
  • 3 years accounts checked and verified by a qualified accountant or if you don’t have that unverified management accounts for the last 3 years!!!  If you haven’t been in operating for 3 years then whatever accounts you do have.

• There are 13 sections to the application form so if you are going to apply start now.
• Applications need to be in by 12^th June 2020 – tight deadline.
• Maximum cost of £928 to the employer:

• • £303 (employer NI and pension)
  • £625 (1/4 of £2,500)
  • Based on employee getting £2,500 furlough payment and NOT working at all.

• Furlough ends 31^st October 2020
• Brighton and Hove application form link https://new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/business-and-licensing-draft/apply-covid-19-business-support-grant

 

Other Councils

Not all councils have set their criteria yet so keep an eye out your councils website particularly if the deadlines are all going to be as tight.