The hospitality sector is bracing itself for more Covid related restrictions from the Government as the Omicron variant spreads across the UK. Whilst pubs and restaurants remain open, the latest wave of the virus has put off consumers from eating and drinking out. Reports of footfall being down and advance bookings cancelled are rife and trading is substantially down on pre-pandemic levels two years ago.
The announcement of a £1bn support package by Rishi Sunak for affected businesses is welcome. Grants of up to £6,000 per premises will be available for short-term business survival. £6,000 might see some smaller businesses through to next year, but not all with the grant funding being based on the rateable value of the property:
Rateable value | £0-£15k | £15k-£51k | >£51k |
Grant | £2.7k | £4k | £6k |
In addition to the above one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises, other measures have also been announced, including:
• More than £100 million discretionary funding to be made available for local authorities to support other businesses.
• Government will also cover the cost of SSP for Covid-related absences for SME employers across the UK.
• £30 million further funding will be made available through the Culture Recovery Fund, enabling more cultural organisations in England to apply for support during the winter.
We all hope that the Omicron crisis goes away quickly so that the uncertainty affecting businesses is short-lived and that there are no further restrictions.
If you need our help regarding government support for affected businesses please get in touch.
Disclaimer
The information was correct at time of publishing but may now be out of date.
