Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism businesses impacted by latest coronavirus restrictions can now find out how much they can expect to receive from the latest round of the Welsh Government’ business support package.
The Welsh Government recently announced £340m to assist businesses affected by coronavirus restrictions which came into force on 4 December.
The latest package includes a £160m Restrictions Business Fund predominantly for businesses paying non-domestic rates, and a £180m grant fund specifically for impacted businesses in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors.
Under this latest round of Welsh Government support, a typical hospitality business in Wales with the equivalent of six full-time staff could be eligible to receive between £12,000 and £14,000 to help them through this period of restrictions and into the New Year.
The £160m Restrictions Business Fund will see impacted businesses that pay non-domestic rates within the hospitality, tourism, leisure, retail sectors and their supply chain qualifying for a one-off payment of between £3,000 and £5,000.
Hospitality businesses that received non-domestic rates funding under the previous firebreak restrictions can expect this payment before Christmas. However, all other eligible businesses will need to register in the New Year to receive their payment.
Impacted firms, including those not paying business rates, can also apply for a share of the £180m sector-specific fund. This part of the package, which is calculated on a business’ staff count and turnover, is expected to support up to 8,000 businesses in sectors impacted by the restrictions and potentially a further 2,000 in related supply chains.
A new eligibility checker and calculator has been live on the Business Wales website from 10 am on Friday 11 December to help businesses work out what support they can expect to qualify for.
Minister for the Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates, said:
“We know how difficult the latest restrictions are for our hospitality businesses, particularly at this time of year, but accelerating coronavirus rates have meant we have had to make difficult decisions to protect people’s health and save lives.
“Through this £340m package of support, we are working to directly assist hospitality businesses and to get financial support to them as quickly as possible. Many will receive between £3K and £5K this side of Christmas, and also, can apply for a sector-specific grant that will follow in the New Year.
This latest in Welsh Government funding is in addition to other UK Government support, such as the Job Retention Scheme and the Kickstart scheme making it the most generous business support offer in the UK.
The following is a link to the Business Wales Covid support web page:
www.gov.wales/coronavirus-support-your-business
Antur Cymru Enterprise is a Welsh business agency supporting the business economy of Wales by offering business advice to regional and local businesses, rural communities and town-centre regeneration projects.
With over 40 years as part of the business landscape of Wales, Antur Cymru Enterpriser delivers the Business Wales Advice service in Mid, West and North Wales as well as offering a range of commercial and specialist consultancy services.
