Greater Manchester businesses urged to urgently access £629m coronavirus grant support funding

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham today led calls for businesses to urgently apply for a share of the £629m coronavirus grant funding available from Local Authorities in the region.

Businesses that are the main rate payer of business rates can be eligible for grant support of between £10,000 and £25,000 and may miss out on vital financial support if they do not apply by the end of April.

It is vital that eligible businesses contact their Local Authority to apply for a grant. Funding is available for eligible companies but councils administering schemes may not have contact details for businesses, many of which are temporarily closed due to coronavirus.

• The Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) will provide businesses with a grant of £10,000 to help support them during the Covid-19 crisis. This grant is for businesses, with a property, that as of 11 March 2020, were in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rates Relief.
• The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) will offer businesses in these sectors across Greater Manchester a grant of up to £25,000. This grant is for businesses in those sectors with a rateable value of less than £51,000 and who would have been eligible for the Expanded Retail Discount Scheme. For businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or less the grant will be £10,000. For businesses with a rateable value of £15,000-£51,000 the grant will be £25,000.

Businesses need to apply via the Local Authority where they are located, with links provided here for each of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs.

• Bolton – click here.
• Bury – click here.
• Manchester – click here.
• Oldham – click here.
• Rochdale – click here.
• Salford – click here.
• Stockport – click here.
• Tameside – click here.
• Trafford – click here.
• Wigan – click here.

Businesses can also find out if they are eligible by going to https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus/local-business-support/greater-manchester and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-business-support-grant-funding-guidance-for-businesses

Mayor Andy Burnham, along with Greater Manchester Local Authority leaders, members of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, and the Growth Company, is working to ensure that businesses are accessing the support that is available for them.

Mayor Andy Burnham said: “Colleagues in all of Greater Manchester’s Local Authorities are working flat out to get this money out to businesses who so desperately need it to survive. I would encourage you to apply if you think you might be eligible. We think there are more businesses eligible than have yet applied and we want to make sure this support reaches those businesses who need it.

“We know there are some gaps in the grant scheme available, such as for small firms that operate from shared working spaces. I am working closely with local leaders to raise these gaps with Government and to ensure the Chancellor delivers on his commitments to do whatever it takes to support businesses and hard-working citizens through this crisis.”

Lou Cordwell and Mo Isap, co-chairs of Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We know there has been some confusion about the grants available to businesses but we urge any small business that are the main business rate payer and so may be eligible to get in touch with their Local Authority as soon as possible.”

In addition to Local Authority grant funding, £3m of loan funding is available for qualifying businesses via the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester LEP, working with the Growth Company, has unlocked an initial £3m package of urgently needed financial support for Greater Manchester businesses via the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for Greater Manchester. Administered by GC Business Finance (GCBF), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) for Greater Manchester is now ready to provide loans of between £5,000 and £250,000 to qualifying companies. To find out more, visit GCBF.

Business advisors at the GC Business Growth Hub are also working extended hours to support businesses and individuals, while information and advice is available via the GC Business Growth Hub coronavirus support hub, part of the #HereForBusiness initiative.

Visit businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus or call the Hub on 0161 359 3050 to speak to an advisor. Extended hub opening hours are now Monday to Friday, 8am – 8pm; and Saturday and Sunday 9am – 1pm.

And national support is available via Government initiatives to support businesses during the coronavirus crisis. (https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support).

Mark Hughes, Chief Executive of the Growth Company, said: “This is an incredibly difficult time for businesses, and it is of vital importance that they know that they can access the funding support and advice that is available to them. Our commitment to supporting the business community has already been demonstrated through the Employ GM and #HereForBusiness initiatives and it is important that businesses know that there is somewhere they can turn for help.”

To check eligibility for Business Support Grant Funding and how to apply visit https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus/local-business-support/greater-manchester

You can also check the official gov.uk guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-business-support-grant-funding-guidance-for-businesses/

For business advice and frequently asked questions, go to businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus, which includes webinars. Or call a Hub advisor on 0161 359 3050.

To find out more about accessing the Greater Manchester Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for Greater Manchester visit: GC Business Finance – http://businessfinance.growthco.uk/funding/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils/

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Press Contacts

Tim Niblock
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Becki Ord
Head of PR, Manchester, Social

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Background

The Growth Company’s financial services arm, GC Business Finance (GCBF), is a fully accredited provider of the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). This scheme is the significant intervention introduced by the government to support businesses through the COVID-19 crisis. The scheme provides an 80% government backed guarantee on loans to SMEs. The Greater Manchester funding now available will be used alongside CBILS to further extend the support available to Greater Manchester businesses.

Anchored in Greater Manchester, and publicly backed, GC Business Finance (GCBF) is one of the UK’s leading alternative finance providers. FCA regulated, trusted and responsible, GCBF is designed on the values and ethics of the Community Finance Sector and charged with a public service remit with a responsive, tech-enabled and fast approach to finance.

Since 2002, GCBF’s not-for-profit, ethical approach to lending has driven their sense of responsibility and core purpose of economic growth and job creation. GCBF offer a range of lending products alongside key national partners, advancing more than £300m in lending in the UK market since 2014 to over 30,000 SME’s.

Providing an alternative to bank lending, GCBF supports SME’s unable to obtain mainstream funding, through a range of viable and publicly backed alternative solutions from £500 to £2m.

The primary source of capital available to lend is through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) microfinance product which GCBF administer for the North West.

About the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) for Greater Manchester

The funding is to be used by GCBF in order to provide CBILS which are not eligible for NPIF funding. Specific criteria include:

• available to qualifying businesses not eligible for NPIF funding
• focus on businesses serving a B2C customer base, across all sectors, however, retail businesses, bars, entertainment venues, clubs, restaurants, general domestic service businesses, (such as cleaning, painting and decorating, gardening and general household maintenance) are excluded
• SMEs (Businesses with up to 250 employees, and a turnover of less than £50m)
• Based in Greater Manchester
• Business shall not have been in difficulty on 31 December 2019; and
• Businesses with viable business plan, which demonstrate an ability to service the loan, in the medium to long term.

The product will be structured as follows:

• Loans of between £5,000 and £250,000;
• Available terms of up to 5 years;
• Capital repayment holiday of up to 12 months; and
• Interest and fee holiday for 12 months

About the Growth Company

The Growth Company is an award-winning social enterprise with a 30-year history of creating jobs, enabling growth and improving lives. Company drives forward economic, personal and professional development within communities by boosting employment, skills, investment and enterprise for the benefit of all. We are commercial and not-for-profit meaning we’re dedicated to reinvesting any money we make into making a positive difference wherever we work and whoever we work with.

For more information, please visit www.growthco.uk.

About the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership

The Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership brings together the private and public sectors to support business growth, develop local skills and innovation, direct investment and reform public services.

The LEP works in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and works through a range of delivery bodies.

For more information, please visit http://gmlep.com/