Following news of a second nationwide lockdown, businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced as part of a new £4.6bn fund.
The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK.
Mr 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.”
This comes in addition to £1.1bn further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month and extension of furlough scheme, and the £594m discretionary fund also made available to support other impacted businesses.
