Business Grant Funding

We recently wrote a blog about business grant funding that is available for businesses in the Yorkshire Region. These grants are all still available. Since then there have been numerous grants made available to businesses that have been affected by COVID-19, the main grants are to help with property costs.

Business Rates Grants

Small Business Grant Applications

The main grants available are being provided by the local council, these are to help businesses pay ongoing property costs.

There are essentially two main grants available:

Small Business Rates Grant

The small business rates grant is available to all businesses that benefit for small business rates relief. The grant is £10,000 and is provided automatically by the council, to apply for this grant from Councils local to Horsforth, please see the links below:

Leeds – Leeds City Council website – Small Business Grants

Bradford – Bradford City Council website – Small Business Grants

Harrogate – Harrogate Borough Council website – Small Business Grants

York – City of York Council website – Small Business Grants

Wakefield – Wakefield Council website – Small Business Grants

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant

This grant is available to businesses operating in the retail, hospitality and leisure industries with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000. The grant is £25,000 and should be applied for directly from your local council.

There is a list of businesses that the government consider to be retail, hospitality and leisure available here UK Government Expanded Retail Discount Guidance.pdf

If you are eligible for either of the above grants, your local council will contact you directly.

Local Authority Discretionary Grant Scheme

Leeds City Council website – Apply For A Discretionary Grant

Harrogate Borough Council website – Apply For A Discretionary Grant

Bradford MDC website – Apply For A Discretionary Grant

Craven District Council website – Apply For A Discretionary Grant

For businesses who were not eligible for the Small Business relief grant, or the hospitality, leisure, assembly or childcare grants, there is a new grant scheme which is now open.

This is a grant of up to £25,000 with each local authority setting their own conditions for eligibility.

Our local Council is Leeds City Council, they have set the maximum grant at £10,000 and if you are based in Leeds, you can apply for a grant if:

You’re a business or charity.
You have not received any other coronavirus funding (not including the CJRS).
You have fewer than 50 employees.
You operate in non-domestic property.
The property has a rateable value of less than £51,000 OR your annual rent or mortgage payments are less than £51,000.
You have annual fixed property costs of £8,000 or more (Rent/Service Charges/Business Rates/Business Mortgage Payments/Utilities Standing Charges).
You are expecting to lose at least 25% of revenue between March and September 2020 due to COVID-19.

To apply visit the link for your area given above.

You will need to fill out some business details, and provide an explanation of what your fixed property costs are, along with evidence such as invoices and statements, and what the financial impact of the COVID-19 has been or is likely to be, again with evidence such as government orders to close, bank statements, forecasts and management accounts showing reduced sales or orders.

If you are eligible and would like to receive the grant it is important that you apply as soon as possible, the funds for these grants are limited, and once they are gone it is unlikely that the scheme will be continued.

Sales Force Small Business Grant

Another grant that is available for small businesses is the sales force small business grant run by Enterprise Nation https://www.enterprisenation.com/smallbusinessgrants/

It is available for companies that have not been eligible for any other government support, the applications are only open for 7 days and the North of England applications are available between 27 July to 2 August.

COVID Support Grant – Leeds City Region

A new grant has was released on 30 September with a closing date of Monday 5 October 2020. The grant is for funding of up to £3,000 to support businesses affected by COVID with digital, legal, HR, financial, health & safety or other consultancy advice or minor equipment. The grant covers 100% of the costs, some of the things you could look at using it for: