The scheme is being administered by local councils and is expected to help 700,000 business owners. It replaces the previous Local Restrictions Support Grant (closed) and Local Restrictions Support Grant (open) which ended on 31 March 2021.
In addition, local authorities in England will also receive an extra £425 million to distribute grants to businesses not eligible for a Restart Grant but have been impacted by coronavirus restrictions.
The primary principle of the Restart Grant scheme is to support businesses that offer in-person services, where the main service and activity takes place in a fixed rate-paying premises, in the relevant sectors. In some cases it may not be materially clear whether a business falls into one of the categories, so decisions on the eligibility of these businesses will be at the Local Authorities discretion.
The application closure date for this scheme is 30 June 2021 and final payments must be made by 31 July 2021.
The scheme is being administered by local councils, so you should check the application process and make applications directly with the relevant council/s. You can find your local council using the Gov.uk search facility here.
How much could you receive from the scheme?
The Restart Grant will support non-essential retail premises with one-off grants of up to £6,000 in Strand One of the Restart Grant. The following thresholds apply for these businesses occupying property with:
- A rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on 1st April 2021 will receive a payment of £2,667.
- A rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on 1st April 2021 will receive a payment of £4,000.
- A rateable value of exactly £51,000 or over on 1st April 2021 will receive a payment of £6,000.14.
The Restart Grant will also support hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym business premises with one-off grants of up to £18,000 in Strand Two of the Restart Grant. The following thresholds apply for these businesses occupying property with:
- A rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on 1st April 2021 will receive a payment of £8,000.
- A rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on 1st April 2021 will receive a payment of £12,000.
- A rateable value of exactly £51,000 or over on 1st April 2021 will receive a payment of £18,000.
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