COVID-19 Support: New Support Announced for Businesses in Wales
Key Contact: Christian Farrow
Author: Chris Doherty
The Welsh Government has announced two new schemes which will offer a total of £140 million in grants to support Welsh businesses impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. The new schemes have been introduced following a series of “local lockdowns” in Wales, which will impose increased restrictions targeted at maintaining social distancing and curbing the spread of the virus.
A £60 million “Rapid Reaction (Local Lockdown) Fund” will offer grants of £1,500 to business in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors with a rateable value of £12,001 to £50,000, and grants of £1,000 to small businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or less, in each case where the business can demonstrate that local lockdown rules have had a “material impact” on them. £3 million of the fund will be made available to “locked-down” local authorities to award discretionary grants of £1,500 to affected businesses not registered to pay business rates.
The second ‘match-funding’ scheme, worth £80m, will serve as the third stage of the Welsh Government’s Economic Resilience Fund (ERF). This scheme is targeted at businesses who can demonstrate plans for post-coronavirus recovery and will consist of:-
- grants of up to £10,000 to micro-businesses (employing up to nine people) that contribute match funding of 10%;
- grants of up to £150,000 to small businesses (employing 1 to 49 people) that contribute match funding of 10%;
- grants of up to £150,000 to medium-sized businesses (employing 50 to 249 people) that contribute match funding of 20%; and
- grants of up to £200,000 to larger businesses (employing more than 250 people) that contribute 50% match funding.
A quarter of the match-funding scheme has been earmarked for the tourism and hospitality sector.
The Eligibility Checker for companies to find out if they can access funding from the third phase of the ERF will go live during week commencing 5 October 2020. Applications for the new schemes are expected to open by the end of October.
For further information and guidance please contact our corporate team.
