New £1m COVID support fund for SMEs
New £1m grant programme aims to support small and medium-sized firms meet the extra costs of complying with COVID-19 restrictions. Tony McDonough reports
Small and medium-sized enterprises in Cheshire and Warrington can now apply for grants from a £1m COVID-19 support fund.
Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is launching its second £1m grant programme to help small businesses meet some of the extra costs created by the COVID restrictions.
The new funding package follows the £1.1 million announced in August and is designed to help businesses to find innovative ways of working within the new three-tier local COVID alert levels.
Businesses will be eligible to apply for capital grants to invest in new ideas that boost revenue or help to increase customer confidence by further increasing their levels of COVID-security.
Applicants will also have to demonstrate that their business has been adversely affected by the new system of COVID restrictions and how the grant will help to mitigate the financial losses.
This could include investment to offset lost sales – such as establishing online delivery, digital ordering systems and building alterations to create one-way systems, outdoor seating and serving hatches.
Funding can also cover new IT equipment such as tablet and contactless payment systems and. Fixed PPE equipment such as plastics screens and sanitiser dispensers are also eligible.
The Cheshire & Warrington COVID support grant can offer funding up to 80% to a maximum of £5,000, with the applicant contributing the remaining 20%. The grants are open to trading SMEs, social enterprises, charities based in the Cheshire or Warrington LEP area. To be eligible, businesses need to have been trading for at least 12 months.
The grants cannot pay for day-to-day running costs, servicing debt or towards cash flow. Other Government programmes are available to help with these issues. The project is being managed by Blue Orchid Enterprise Solutions of behalf of the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.
Clare Hayward, chair of the LEP said: “We need to protect jobs and support companies across the board – but we are especially mindful of hard hit sectors such as the high street, tourism and hospitality.”