A £4.6 billion relief package for the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors was announced this week following the UK’s return to national lockdown measures.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a new £4.6 billion relief package for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses in the UK to help support businesses through the latest national lockdown and into the spring months. The relief package was announced yesterday (5 January) following the re-introduction of national lockdown measures in the UK on 4 January.
Businesses and firms working within these sectors, including businesses that were legally required to close and cannot operate effectively remotely – clubs or live music venues, for example – qualify for the one-off grants of up to £9,000 per property.
The maximum grant amount will be made available for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000. The grant amount reduces to £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000, and finally £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under. The funds are expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties.
Rishi Sunak said, “The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge – and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.”
“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.”
The new government grants form part of a wider relief package. For further information take a look here.