Tag Archive for: Business Grants

Business Booster Campaign

In light of Plan B and the effect it is having on our hospitality, leisure and retail sectors, Love Wimbledon BID is joining hundreds of BIDs around the country and calling on the Government to deliver a #BusinessBooster to support venues, pubs, clubs, restaurants, leisure services and shops.

The hospitality sector is vital to our economic recovery and the current measures in place do not reflect the current concerns faced by businesses.

We are calling on Government to:

  • Provide Business Rates Relief
    Offer businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors 100% Business Rate Relief for up to and including 31st March 2022 [no cap]. After which, we call on the Government to support the recovery by providing businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a 50% Business Rate Relief from 1st April 2022 to 30th June 2022 [no cap]. The current package of 25% Business Rate Relief was designed for an open economy, post-Covid. The rise of the Omicron variant, increased restrictions and their impact on hospitality, leisure and retail, require a response from Government that mirrors lockdown support.
  • VAT Extension
    Extend the current VAT reduction for the hospitality sector of 12.5% through to 31st March 2023 to allow the sector to respond and support the re-emergence of the UK economy. The current rate of 12.5% allows businesses to achieve cost savings and most importantly of all for the economy and consumer confidence, not to pass the increased cost on allowing for the economy to recover once more in Spring 2022.
  • Provide Grants
    Introduce grants up to £15,000 by rateable value to businesses within the hospitality, retail and leisure sector to enable them to survive the festive and New Year trading period, plus the impending rent quarter date of 25th December 2021. The quoted £250 million in unspent grants is not consistent in level and would place disproportionate pressure on business, simply because of their location. Vast swathes of businesses would simply not receive a penny.

Thank you to Croydon BID, BID Foundation, British BIDs, ATCM, British Beer & Pub Association, UKHospitality and Night Time Industries Association who are the campaign founders.

Find out more here.