A £594m discretionary fund is also being made available to support other businesses impacted by fresh restrictions.
The move follows the prime minister’s announcement last night that England will enter lockdown and these businesses will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the virus.
The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to help more than 600,000 business properties, worth £4bn in total across all nations of the UK.
Chancellor Rishi 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.”
A further £594m is also being made available for local authorities and the devolved administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. These businesses can apply to their relevant local authority.
The new grants come in addition to billions of existing business support, including grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.
The government has also provided 100 per cent business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses and £1.1bn existing discretionary funding for local authorities.
The furlough scheme has now been extended to April, and 100 per cent government backed loans, extended until March.
How much cash will businesses receive?
The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:
• £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
• £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of more than £51,000
Business support is a devolved policy and therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations. The Scottish government will receive £375m, Welsh government £227m, and Northern Ireland £127m.
