£100M FUND FOR BUSINESSES IMPACTED BY COVID-19

Further to Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop’s announcement this morning that the Scottish Government’s additional £100m fund for businesses impacted by COVID-19 will be open for applications from 2pm, we wanted to provide you with more information about this support.

Companies can find full details on Find Business Support. This grant funding has been divided into three distinct funds:

• The Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund – a £45m fund for viable but vulnerable SMEs who are vital to Scotland’s economy.
• The Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund – a £20m fund for small creative, tourism and hospitality companies not in receipt of COVID-19 business rates relief.
• The Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund – a £35m fund for the newly self-employed facing hardship through £2,000 grants.

You can read the full Scottish Government statement published today (30 April) here.

In a collaborative approach, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise will deliver both the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund and the Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund, with support from Creative Scotland and VisitScotland.

The Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund will be delivered by local authorities. Links to individual local authority applications are available via the Find Business Support website.

We are acutely aware of how tough a time this is for businesses in Scotland, so demand for this additional funding is likely to be exceptionally high. A guiding principle for us throughout this crisis has been to provide support to those who need it most. Delivering this extra assistance will be no different and will be of vital importance in order to support the economy.

For the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, support will be targeted at businesses that can demonstrate the following:

• Drive economic prosperity – for example through wages, employment, exports, supply chain, etc.
• Are a supplier or potential supplier to NHS or other COVID-19 vital services
• Are suppliers to other essential businesses
• Can scale up or diversify due to COVID-19 opportunities
• Continue to trade or can quickly come out of hibernation
• Play an important role within their local community

For the Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund, support will be targeted at businesses in this sector that can demonstrate financial hardship due to COVID-19.

For each fund, companies must meet the following eligibility criteria:

The Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund

• Companies with up to 249 employees that have been trading successfully prior to COVID-19
• Less than €50m turnover or balance sheet total of €43m
• Can demonstrate the funding will support the business to be viable
• Not in financial difficulty before 31 December 2019
• Must have business bank account

The Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund

• Companies up to 49 employees
• Experienced at least a 50% loss of current or projected revenue
• Not in financial difficulty pre 31th December 2019
• Are not in receipt of other COVID-19 government support, except Coronavirus Job Retention ‘Furlough’ Scheme
• Not for pre-revenue companies
• Must have a business bank account

We have all worked together at pace to ensure the appropriate infrastructure and capacity is in place to deliver this support. Resources have been reallocated to ensure this fund is administered at maximum efficiency. We have pulled together key individuals across our respective organisations, such as Account Managers and Specialists, to support the appraisal of applications.

Getting the money to recipients is of critical importance. We anticipate the application process will take no more than ten working days and successful applicants will receive funds paid 100% upfront within that timeframe. Full details on what information companies will need to provide as part of the application process can be viewed at Find Business Support.