Chancellor Announces £4.6 Billion Business Lockdown Grants

A new financial package designed to support retail, hospitality and leisure sectors businesses and protect jobs has been unveiled.

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced that businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to be given one-off grants to help them through the new national lockdown.

The announcement comes on the back of the Prime Minister’s announcement that these businesses will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the continued coronavirus outbreak. The new funding, coupled with existing support schemes, is intended to help businesses survive through the spring period.

Grants will be provided on a per-property basis, supporting firms through the latest restrictions. The funds are expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK.

The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses in England, as follows:

£4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under.
£6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.
£9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000.

The new one-off grants come in addition to billions of pounds of existing business support, including grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.

A further £594 million is being made available for local authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:

‘Throughout the pandemic we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the spring.

‘This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.’

Eligible businesses should apply for support through their local authorities.