Additional restrictions grant

An additional grant is available to support certain local businesses where at least 40% of their usual trade is prevented from taking place until at least 21 June 2021 by the limit of 30 people attending life events. Nightclubs are also eligible.

These businesses have received the same national restart grant as other hospitality and leisure businesses allowed to open from 12 April or 17 May. In addition, as at 25 May, the Government is not expected to make a definitive announcement regards relaxing restrictions until 14 June. Taking these two factors together, these businesses are likely to face additional financial pressures.

Eligible businesses will generally be those whose main income is usually from weddings and other significant life events (such as event caterers, venue hire and marquee suppliers), and which do not have public facing business premises. These businesses are severely impacted by the limit of 30 people attending such events.  Nightclubs are also eligible, as they are still legally required to close.

For the avoidance of doubt, public facing businesses allowed to open from 17 May or earlier, but which may still be impacted by socialisation restrictions, are not eligible for this grant. Ineligible businesses include hospitality (pubs, restaurants, cafés), leisure and accommodation businesses, and retail shops.

Eligible businesses will receive:

• £5,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under. This also includes businesses in shared spaces, where the business is not the direct ratepayer.
• £7,500 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,001 and £50,999
• £11,250 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000 and above

Grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.

To apply, an applicant business must meet all of the following:

• Occupies business premises liable for business rates within the Leicester City Council boundary (as the direct ratepayer, or as a ‘shared space’ where rates is included in the rent)
• Be a small or micro business, or a sole trader
• Not occupy public facing business premises such as a pub, restaurant or shop (see more detailed examples above)
• Before the pandemic, generated at least 40% of total revenue from supplying life events where a maximum of 30 people is allowed until 21 June; or, is a nightclub which previously received a ‘sector’ grant.
• Intends to resume normal trading when the restrictions are eased
• Has not exceeded subsidy thresholds (formerly state aid)

Do I need to apply?

We are contacting businesses and nightclubs that may be eligible and which have received mandatory or discretionary restart grants.

We will require email confirmation that the business meets the above criteria. We will also require a letter from an external accountant or auditor confirming the 40% revenue requirement.

If you are not contacted by 11 June 2021 or did not receive a restart grant, and your business meets the above criteria, please email c19discretionarygrant@leicester.gov.uk. Please provide the business name, address, accountant/auditor letter and why you believe the business is eligible. We will review the information and contact you.

We reserve the right to request more detailed information in support of any application.

A grant for small and micro suppliers to the leisure, hospitality, events and accommodation sectors, which usually derive at least 40% of their revenues from these sectors. These businesses have been significantly impacted by the restrictions placed on their customers, and will likely continue to be affected for some time as the sectors remain under some restrictions. This grant is available to businesses (including sole traders) occupying business premises, whether as the direct ratepayer or occupying a ‘shared space’. It is not available to home based businesses.  

Examples could include businesses supplying equipment and maintenance services to leisure facilities or restaurants, manufacturers or sellers of leisure equipment, caterers, sound and lighting suppliers, pub/restaurant/hotel cleaning services, printers of promotional materials, film production companies, theatrical suppliers, creators of stage sets and staging for corporate events.

Note that the grant is not available to supply chain businesses that have been receiving grants under the ‘open’ / tier 2 scheme, which closed to new applications on 31 March 2021.

Eligible businesses will receive:

• £5,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under. This also includes businesses in shared spaces, where the business is not the direct ratepayer.
• £10,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,001 and £50,999
• £15,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000 and above.

Note the grants for rateable values over £15,000 and £51,000 are higher than other discretionary schemes, as the recipients of grants under this scheme will not have benefitted from the business rates ‘holiday’. If by exception any business has received rates relief, then grants of £7,500 or £11,250 will be paid.

To apply, an applicant business must meet all of the following:

• Occupies business premises liable for business rates within the Leicester City Council boundary
• Be a small and micro business, or a sole trader
• Before the pandemic, generated at least 40% of total revenue from supplying the leisure, hospitality or accommodation sectors
• Has not received any other business support grants from Leicester City Council (except a £10,000 small business grant, or a discretionary grant, in the early months of the pandemic)
• Intends to continue supplying the sectors when legally allowed to do so (or has recently started to do so)

Do I need to apply?

Yes – please email us at c19supplychain@leicester.gov.uk, providing:

• Your Leicester City Council rates account reference, or if not the direct ratepayer then a copy of your tenancy agreement/lease.
• A description of the business and an explanation of how it has been affected by the restrictions in the leisure, hospitality, events or accommodation sectors. Include the percentage of total revenues usually derived from these sectors (minimum 40%, to apply for a grant), and the value.
• Attach a letter from an external accountant or auditor confirming the percentage of total revenues usually derived from these sectors, and the value (note the council may seek validation of this percentage and value, and may contact the accountant or auditor).
• Confirm that the business was trading on 31 December 2020 and intends to continue trading and supplying the leisure, hospitality, events or accommodation sectors.
• The registration number of the business at Companies House.
• Or, for sole traders, evidence of your unique taxpayer reference (UTR), showing your name and address.

We will review the information and then contact you.

Note, we may at our discretion require further detailed evidence to confirm eligibility.

A grant for mobile and/or home based businesses which provide close contact services (such as hairdressers and beauticians) and which have been legally prevented from working as usual due to the national lockdown. We recognise that some of these businesses have incurred relatively significant business related fixed costs (other than payroll, which the council is not allowed to support) that are not compensated for by the national self-employment income support and furlough schemes. This grant is available to the self-employed and those who operate through their own limited company. The grant will help these businesses recover as the restrictions are eased.

A fixed grant of £1,000 per eligible applicant is available.

To apply, an applicant must meet all of the following:

• Lives in the city of Leicester (within the Leicester City Council boundary)
• Operates the business at or from a domestic property liable to council tax within the Leicester City Council boundary
• Is self-employed or employed through their own company
• Was actively trading before 11 March 2020
• Provides mobile and/or home based close contact services and has been legally prevented from working as usual due to the national lockdown. Examples of eligible activities are provided below.
• Have not have received any other business support grants from Leicester City Council
• Usually derives over 50% of your personal income from the business
• Intends to continue working when legally allowed to do so (or has recently restarted work)
• Has incurred business fixed non-payroll costs of at least £750 between April 2020 and March 2021

Do I need to apply?

Yes – please email us at C19homebasedbusiness@leicester.gov.uk, attaching the documents listed below.  Files must be sent as attachments and not photographs embedded in the email, and must not be zipped.

• Proof of your home address in Leicester
• Description of the business activity (e.g. mobile hairdresser, beautician)
• Description of income lost between March 2020 and March 2021
• Evidence of operating the business since January 2020 (e.g. invoices, business insurance, marketing materials, website address, Facebook page)
• Evidence of your unique taxpayer reference (UTR), showing your name and address
• If you operate through your own limited company, please also provide the company name and registration number
• Evidence of business fixed non-payroll costs totalling at least £750 between April 2020 and March 2021 – see below for examples of eligible costs
• Please confirm you intend to continue working when legally allowed to do so (or have recently restarted work)

We will review the information and then contact you.  If you are invited to continue with the application, you will be required to also provide a bank statement clearly showing evidence of business transactions within the period 1 January 2020 to 11 March 2020, together with a copy of a current bank statement for the account into which the grant is to be paid – which must be used for business purposes. If these accounts are different, you will need to tell us why.

Examples of eligible business fixed non-payroll costs (minimum £750 to be evidenced, between April 2020 and March 2021):

• Vehicle used for business/work purposes - insurance, road fund licence, lease payments. Half of the cost will be taken into account for cars, which are also generally available for personal use.
• The full cost of commercial vehicles such as vans will be allowed if used wholly or substantially for the business/work.
• Business insurance
• Professional memberships and affiliations
• Equipment maintenance, rental
• Note that home premises costs such as heat, light and shared phone and broadband are not eligible.

Examples of home based and mobile business activities include:

• Beauty and nail services (including make-up services, tanning and spray-tanning and nail treatment)
• Hair removal services (including hairdressing, barbering, shaving, waxing, eyebrow threading and laser hair removal)
• Spa and wellness services (including aromatherapy, exfoliation, dermatology and skincare, facial, hydrotherapy, manicure, pedicure, reiki)
• Acupuncture
• Homeopathy
• Meditation

Please note that osteopathy, physiotherapy and chiropractic services are not eligible for this grant, because these are defined as health services and have not been subject to legal restrictions.

The fund offers grants of up to £3,000 to businesses which due to the issues caused by covid-19 are looking to develop or diversify their current business and/or enable safer working practices.

Businesses that have received lockdown grants are welcome to apply if the eligibility conditions are met. However, businesses that have previously received the Small Business Recovery Grant managed via the LLEP Business Growth Hub are not eligible.  

Do I need to apply?

Yes - you can download the application form and accompanying guidance at the bottom of this page.

Note the funding is limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Hospitality, accommodation and leisure businesses that received the grant for open businesses from August 2020, but are not eligible for the mandatory national lockdown grants as they are not the direct ratepayer or are not legally required to close.

Do I need to apply?

No – businesses have been paid automatically during lockdown periods, on par with the mandatory national lockdown grants. They have received a lump sum payment equivalent to the January national lump sum grant.

Payments equivalent to the national restart lump sum grants and the discretionary lockdown grants for 1-11 April 2021 have been made in late April/early May.

Small and micro ratepaying non-essential retail businesses that have had to close and have been receiving national lockdown grants.

A one-off grant paid in February 2021 was intended to help these businesses manage the impact of the extended local restrictions before the national lockdown periods, in particular from August 2020 until the November lockdown. Note that businesses which received the grant for open businesses from August were not also eligible for this grant. The grant amounts were:

• £2,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
• £3,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• £4,500 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000.

A further one-off grant was paid in May 2021, to support businesses with premises costs between the end of the national lockdown grants on 31 March and 12 April when many businesses were allowed to reopen. The grant is based on 11 days (1-11 April) at the lockdown grant rate and will be paid to businesses which were still the ratepayer on 1 April 2021. This grant is additional to the national restart grant. The grant amounts are:

• £525 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
• £786 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,001 to £50,999
• £1,179 for businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 and over.

Do I need to apply?

No - because you have already received the lockdown grants.

Small and micro essential retail businesses in the city centre and within the inner ring road that did not receive grants for open businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors.

This recognises the particularly severe impact of the extended restrictions on person to person retail businesses in the central area, and that small businesses which are not legally required to close have generally received no grant support since the first scheme in March/April 2020. These businesses are allowed to remain open and trading. However, they have generally been significantly impacted due to reduced footfall in the city centre over an extended period. Businesses may be direct ratepayers or occupy a shared space. There is a dedicated scheme for market traders, please see tab below.

The grant amounts are:

• £5,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under (including businesses in shared spaces)
• £7,500 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• £11,250 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000.

Do I need to apply?

We have contacted businesses identified as potentially eligible inviting them to apply for a grant. Any business which thinks it may be eligible but has not been contacted should email c19essentialretailgrant@leicester.gov.uk

Small, micro and self-employed dry cleaning and vehicle repair businesses across the city.

These businesses are allowed to remain open, as they are classed as essential and therefore have received no grant support since the first scheme in March/April 2020. However, the council recognises they are particularly severely impacted, as the public require significantly less of these services due to the restrictions on travel and socialisation, together with increased homeworking.

Businesses may be direct ratepayers or occupy a shared space. They must have been trading on 31 December 2020 and intend to continue trading. They must not have received business grants for the current lockdown.

The grant amounts are:

• £5,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under (including businesses in shared spaces)
• £7,500 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• £11,250 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000.

Do I need to apply?

Yes – please email us at c19essentialretailcitywide@leicester.gov.uk, providing your rates account reference, or if not the direct ratepayer then a copy of your tenancy agreement/lease. Please also confirm that the business was trading on 31 December 2020 and intends to continue trading. We will review the information and then contact you.

We are keeping under review the need for targeted support for other essential small retail businesses.

Traders who would normally regularly take stalls at the Leicester and Beaumont Leys markets run by the council are eligible for a lump sum grant of £400 per trading day, up to maximum of £2,000. Ratepaying traders in the Leicester Market food hall are eligible for a grant of £5,000, the same as other city centre small and micro essential retailers.

Eligible traders have been contacted directly so that payment can be arranged.

Places of public worship with defined and separate community facilities that have lost at least 40% of their usual income from premises hire due to the pandemic. The area must be physically separate from the space used for worship. The grant relates only to the community facilities.

Do I need to apply?

Not if you received such a grant in the summer of 2020 - you will have been contacted to check continued eligibility and then paid.

If you did not receive a grant previously, please email us at c19placesofworshipgrant@leicester.gov.uk and we will be in touch.

New applicants will be asked to evidence income loss of at least 40%, which we will usually measure by comparing income between October and December 2019 with the same period in 2020.

A one-off lump sum grant of £5,000 is available.

Charities with offices and premises with relatively high fixed property costs such as rent and which have lost at least 40% of their usual income due to the pandemic.

All of the following criteria must be met:

• Registered charity
• If liable for business rates, in receipt of charitable rates relief
• If not directly liable for rates, have a formal tenancy agreement in premises registered for business rates
• Operates predominately for the benefit of local people (Leicester and Leicestershire), or linked communities
• Must not be a place of public worship, or operating primarily for religious purposes
• Incurring premises or other fixed non-payroll costs (e.g. rent, insurance, utilities, vehicles) of at least £2,000 per year (evidence is required)
• Has suffered loss of income of at least 40%, which we will usually measure by comparing income between October and December 2019 with the same period in 2020 (evidence is required)
• Is not already receiving business support grants from the council for the current lockdown

A one-off lump sum grant of £5,000 per charity is available.

Do I need to apply?

Yes – please email us at c19charities@leicester.gov.uk, providing evidence of fixed costs of at least £2,000 p.a., bank statements showing at least a 40% income loss (usually from October to December 2019 and the same period in 2020), and if applicable a tenancy agreement/lease. We will review the information and then contact you.

Non-essential retail businesses that do not pay rates directly to the council, are required by law to close and have relatively high fixed business costs such as rent.

All of the following criteria must be met:

• Be a small or micro business, or self-employed
• Have exclusive use of identifiable business premises into which the public could enter before lockdown (or be a longstanding kiosk in a shopping centre)
• Have a formal tenancy agreement in premises registered for business rates
• Legally required to close from 31 December 2020 or earlier, and be closed
• Incurring premises or other fixed non-payroll costs (e.g. rent, insurance, utilities, vehicles) of at least £2,000 per year (evidence is required)
• Not already eligible for or receiving business support grants from the council for the current lockdown

A one-off lump sum grant of £5,000 per business is available.

Do I need to apply?

Yes – please email us at c19sharedpremises@leicester.gov.uk, providing evidence of fixed costs of at least £2,000 p.a., and a tenancy agreement/lease.  We will review the information and then contact you.

A grant for self-employed approved driving instructors, who are legally prevented from providing driving lessons or motorcycle training because of the national lockdown. We consider that self-employed driving instructors continue to incur significant business related costs and have been significantly impacted by the restrictions. This grant is also available to instructors who operate through their own limited company.

A fixed grant of £2,500 per eligible applicant is available.

To apply, an applicant must meet all of the following:

• Lives in the city of Leicester
• Is an approved driving instructor, and has been since at least 31 December 2020
• Intends to continue working as a driving instructor when legally allowed to do so
• Owns or rents a vehicle
• Has valid vehicle insurance or rental agreement dating from 1 January 2021 or earlier

Do I need to apply?

Yes – please email us at C19homebasedbusiness@leicester.gov.uk, attaching:

• Proof of your home address in Leicester
• Your approved driving instructor registration
• Current vehicle insurance or rental (and also at 1 January 2021, if renewed since then)
• Photo of your vehicle showing the vehicle registration number
• Evidence of your unique taxpayer reference (UTR)
• Please confirm that you intend to continue working as a driving instructor when legally allowed to do so. 

If you operate through your own limited company, please also provide the company name and registration number.

We will review the information and then contact you.

The new domestic subsidy allowance for the COVID-19 business support grants took effect on 4 March 2021. This scheme is now covered by three subsidy allowances:

• Small Amounts of Financial Assistance Allowance – you’re allowed up to £335,000 (subject to exchange rates) over any period of 3 years
• COVID-19 Business Grant Allowance – you’re allowed up to £1,600,000
• COVID-19 Business Grant Special Allowance - if you have reached your limits under the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance Allowance and COVID-19 Business Grant Allowance, you may be able to access a further allowance of funding under these scheme rules of up to £9,000,000, provided certain conditions are met

Grants under these three allowances can be combined for a potential total allowance of up to £10,935,000 (subject to exchange rates).

Businesses must ensure that by receiving a grant they will not breach the applicable thresholds. Businesses will be asked to self-certify this is the case when applying for a grant. An additional written statement from the finance director or other senior postholder will be required from a business claiming the COVID-19 Business Grant Special Allowance.  The Council may at its discretion request further evidence from any business.

Applications made before 4 March 2021 remain subject to the previous rules based on EU state aid.