Nottingham Council have a small business grant available.
ACCESS TO THESE GRANTS CLOSES ON MONDAY!
Two support grants are available for businesses:
- Business Support Grant
Who’s it for? If you pay rates to Nottingham City Council and currently receive Small Business Rate Relief or if your rateable value is below £51,000 and your business is part of the retail/leisure/hospitality industry, you may be eligible for a grant of £10,000 – £25,000.
For more information on support with Business Rates or to apply for a Business Support Grant, please see the section below, Business Support Grants, Business Rates Enquiries and FAQs
- Nottingham Small Business Fund
Who’s it for? Businesses outside of the scope of the Small Business Rates Relief scheme to support them with ongoing fixed costs e.g. fixed property costs. Those who have previously received the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants will not be eligible for this grant.
YOU CAN APPLY FOR THE FUND AT THIS LINK. YOU MUST DO THIS BEFORE THE END OF THE 15TH OF JUNE 2020.
Criteria to ensure you are eligible
Nottingham City Council has been awarded £3.35m from Central Government for a Discretionary Grant Fund, which the council is calling the Nottingham Small Business Fund, to award at its discretion to support businesses outside of the scope of the Small Business Rates Relief scheme to support local businesses with ongoing property costs. Those who have previously received the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants will not be eligible for this grant.
Grants of up to £2,500, £5,000 and a maximum award of £10,000 will be available for businesses who were trading prior to 11 March and who have been ineligible for other grant funding.
This includes:
- Those in shared or flexible workspaces;
- Market and street traders;
- Charities, social enterprises, and cooperatives; and
- Other businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and up to £51,000 who have been forced to close or reduce trade.
Due to the limited funding available and expected over-subscription to the scheme, grant applications will need to be submitted to the City Council for assessment, with payments expected to start in June.
To submit an application for these grants, businesses must:
- Be a Nottingham City based business;
- Have been trading prior to 11 March 2020;
- Have below 50 employees;
- Not be a chain or subsidiary of larger company;
- Not be eligible to receive small business rate relief grant or retail/leisure/hospitality grant;
- Have annual property or other fixed costs of over £3,000 per year (which, for market traders, includes pitch fees);
- Have lost income due to Covid-19;
- Be a small or micro business.
Additionally, eligible businesses can meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Operating from shared premises, where rates are paid through single rental/service charge;
- Regular market trader, with an account with Nottingham City Council, operating mainly in the city boundary;
- Charity, social enterprise, community interest group or cooperative;
- A business with rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000, where the business has been impacted by COVID-19 or at least partially closed, for example:
- Garage, car repair or similar business;
- Tech or Life Science business;
- Childcare/Nursery;
- Arts/Creative industry;
- Supply chain affected by retail/leisure/hospitality closures;
- Start ups; and
- Night time economy businesses.
Business type excluded from this scheme include:
- Financial services (e.g. banks, building societies, cash points, bureau de change, payday lenders, betting shops, pawn brokers);
- Estate agents, letting agents, employment agencies;
- Professional services (e.g. solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/ financial advisers, tutors);
- Sole traders working from home;
- B&Bs operating from home with Council Tax liability;
- Businesses with rateable value over £51,000;
- Businesses still mainly trading through COVID-19 with over 75% of normal trading;
- Businesses with fixed eg property costs under £3,000 per annum;
- Any business eligible for SBRR grant, retail, leisure or hospitality grant;
- Businesses with over 50 employees;
- Subsidiaries of larger companies (non SME) and chains.
Central Government has confirmed that:
- Local authorities may choose to make payments to businesses based on local economic need.
- Allocation of funding will be at the discretion of local authorities.
- The only two mandatories are that the business has to have been trading 11 March and that they are not eligible for the other Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants
- Funding is designed to supporting businesses with fixed costs, e.g. fixed property costs.
