Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced bold new measures to support, businesses, workers and the economy against Covid 19.
Firstly, on businesses continuity:
- The Chancellor will make available £330bn of Government guaranteed business continuity loans – equivalent to 15% of our GDP.
- For big businesses, a new lending facility will be established to produce low cost commercial loans.
- For SMEs, the Business Interruption Loan Scheme announced at the Budget will be extended, allowing loans of up to £5 million with no interest for the first six months.
- If demand is greater than £330bn, more will be made available.
For shops, pubs, restaurants etc:
- All businesses in the retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors will pay zero business rates for 12 months.
- Businesses with rateable values under £51k will be provided with a cash grant of up to £25k per business.
For businesses that do have pandemic cover within their insurance, the Government has said categorically that they will be able to make claims for Coronavirus.
For small businesses in any sector who are already exempt from business rates, the Chancellor announced grants of £3k in the Budget. This has now been extended to grants of £10k.
For homeowners:
- Mortgage lenders will offer a 3 month mortgage payment holiday. These new schemes will be in place by the start of new week at the latest.
These are only the first measures being announced and the Government will continue to work to give businesses and individuals the support they need.
