Restart Grants are a one-off cash grant available from this month to hard-hit hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England with premises that are trying to reopen and get back on their feet following the latest lockdown.
The Restart Grant scheme replaces both the monthly Local Restrictions Support Grant and Additional Restrictions Support Grant, both of which closed at the end of March. This new scheme is scheduled to come to an end on 21 June 2021, then the government plans to lift all lockdown restrictions in England.
To be eligible for the Restart Grant, your business must:-
Be based in England;
Operate from property on which it pays business rates;
Have been forced to close because of the national lockdown from 5 January 2021 or between 5 November and 2 December 2020;
Have been unable to provide its normal in-person customer service from its premises.
Additionally, in the scheme criteria published by the Government, businesses should have been trading on 1 April 2021.
The Government has confirmed that even if your business re-opens as early as 12 April 2021, you will still be eligible for a Restart Grant. The scheme reflects the impact of closures during lockdown, and not the date that a business re-opens.
Grant Payments
Eligible non-essential retail businesses can claim a grant of up to £6,000 per premises.
Businesses in the hospitality, accommodation, leisure personal care and fitness sectors may claim a grant of up to £18,000 per premises, depending on their rateable value: -
If your rateable value is £15,000 or less, you can claim up to £8,000;
If your rateable value is between £15,000 and £51,000, you can receive up to £12,000;
If your rateable value is over £51.000, then you can claim up to £18,000.
Grants do not need to be repaid, but they will be treated as profits and may be subject to tax.
How to apply for a Restart Grant
If you believe that your small business is eligible to apply for the Restart Grant, visit you local council's website for more information, because local authority's have been given the responsibility for distributing the grant funding.
Further details can be found on the gov.uk website at Check if you're eligible for a coronavirus Restart Grant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)