Funding sources to support businesses in Scotland facing coronavirus
If you have applied for a grant through your local council, you need to contact them for an update. Our enquiries team have no access to their systems.
Apply for the Coronavirus Restrictions Fund if your business has been affected by temporary COVID rules in Scotland (22 October 2020)
This Scottish Government fund is for businesses and employees in Scotland affected by the temporary coronavirus (COVID-19) brake restrictions that came into effect from 9 October 2020.
The support funds will be administered by Local Authorities, providing one-off grants to hospitality and other businesses required to close by the brake restrictions regulations.
There are 2 funds available:
- business closure fund
- business hardship fund - this will be decided on a case-by-case basis
The support funds will be administered by local authorities, providing one-off grants to hospitality and other businesses required to close by the brake restrictions regulations.
The business closure fund will operate as a two-tiered scheme:
- a smaller grant of £2,875 for businesses with a Rateable Value (RV) of up to and including £51,000
- a larger grant of £4,310 for businesses with a RV of £51,001 or above, up to a maximum of £21,000 in total for any eligible business operating multiple premises
The discretionary business hardship fund will support some companies that can remain open but are directly impacted by the restrictions, including those that supply businesses that must close. It will also operate as a two-tiered scheme depending on Rateable Value:
- a smaller payment of £1,440 for businesses with a Rateable Value (RV) of up to and including £51,000
- a larger payment of £2,155 for businesses with a RV of £51,001 or above, up to a maximum of £14,000 in total for any eligible business operating multiple premise
Self-employment Income Support Scheme
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme has been extended for another 6 months and will be in the form of 2 grants. Each grant will be available for 3 month periods covering November 2020 to January 2021 and February 2021 to April 2021 (23 October 2020)
To be eligible for the Grant Extension, you must
- have been previously eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme first and second grant (although you do not have to have claimed the previous grants)
- declare that you intend to continue to trade
and either:
- are currently actively trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus
- were previously trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus
Other support for the self-employed
If you're self-employed, you are not eligible to receive statutory sick pay (SSP)
If you're self-employed and not claiming any benefits, you may be entitled to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit.
If you're self-employed and already claiming Universal Credit and have to stay at home due to coronavirus, you will not have a Minimum Income Floor (an assumed level of income) applied for a period of time while affected.
If you're self-employed and concerned you'll be unable to pay your tax, you may be eligible to receive support through HMRC’s Time to Pay service. However, arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis to account for individual circumstances and liabilities. (26 March 2020)
You can contact HMRC’s dedicated COVID-19 helpline on 0800 0159 559.
If you have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms
You will be considered unfit for work if:
- have coronavirus symptoms and are staying at home, according to government guidance
- if you're staying at home, or 'self-isolating', because you've been in contact with someone with coronavirus (COVID-19)
Claiming sick pay
You will be able to claim statutory sick pay (SSP) if you’re employed on a zero hours contract and earn over £118 per week.
If you have to take time off work due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and you don’t get paid while you’re off, you may be entitled to claim government benefits.
Citizens Advice suggest that if you already receive benefits, such as Tax Credits or Housing Benefit you should speak to the office paying you and explain that you are unable to work due to illness.
Citizens Advice notes that you may be entitled to more money while you’re off.
Learn about the Renfrewshire Coronavirus Business Support Fund, a £1.3 million Renfrewshire Council package of interest free loans and grants. It helps businesses affected by the pandemic. There are three options:
Business Restart Loan
Small and start-up businesses and the self-employed can apply for interest-free loans from £1,000 to £5,000. They are to assist with short-term cashflow and are repayable for up to three years.
Eligible businesses must have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and not be in receipt of any other coronavirus loan fund.
The loans are provided through partnership with Right Way Credit Union.
Business Resilience Grant
This grant is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and provides a 50% match-funded grant from £1,000 to £10,000. The aim is to support small and medium sized businesses and the self-employed, who have plans for growth and are working towards new business goals. This includes:
- buying new equipment
- property expansion or improvements
- exhibiting costs
- developing new products and processes
To qualify for support, the business must operate from a commercial premise in Renfrewshire.
Business Adaptation Grant
This grant provides a match-funded grant from £1,000 to £2,500 to help small and medium sized businesses, including the self-employed, to adapt their premises to meet physical distancing requirements. This includes:
- purchase of screens
- PPE
- signage
The grant is open to retrospective applications for businesses who have already purchased the necessary equipment.
To qualify for support, the business must operate from a commercial premise in Renfrewshire.
Small and medium-sized businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) can apply for a loan of up to £50,000 which will be guaranteed by the UK Government (4 May 2020)
Apply for a coronavirus Bounce Back Loan.
The scheme has been designed to ensure that small firms, who need a vital cash injection to keep operating, can get finance in a matter of days.
Features:
- no forward-looking tests of business viability
- simple eligibility criteria
- a quick, standard form
- most firms should receive the loan within 24 hours of approval
- the UK Government will pay the interest for the first 12 months
- the UK Government will guarantee 100% of the loan
- it will be capped at £50,000
COVID Working Capital Loans of between £25,000 and £100,000 are being offered by Business Loans Scotland (BLS) under the Scottish Growth Scheme.
These loans are aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Scotland to help fund working capital and cashflow needs during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
The loans are available in addition to other Government grant and loan schemes.
They offer an initial three-month interest and capital repayment holiday and a fixed interest rate of 6%.
The following types of legally formed and trading businesses are eligible:
- Limited companies
- Partnerships, including limited liability partnerships (LLPs), with four or more partners
- Partnerships, including limited liability partnerships (LLPs), with three or fewer partners (loans over £25,000 only)
- Sole traders (loans over £25,000 only)
The main focus is on businesses engaged in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) categories.
Businesses must prove they were viable and not in financial difficulty on 31 December 2019.
They should also have previously applied for a Bounce Back Loan or Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan.
You can apply online on the BLS website.
About the scheme
Check if you can claim for your employees' wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (2 October 2020)
The final date you could furlough an employee for the first time was Wednesday 10 June.
However, people on paternity and maternity leave who return to work in the coming months will be eligible for the government’s furlough scheme. (9 June)
The UK Job Retention Scheme (furlough) now pays 70% of wages of workers on leave. It will end on 31 October. The UK Government now asks companies to "start sharing" the cost of the scheme. (9 October 2020)
Instead of making employees redundant, employers can furlough employees and apply for a grant that covers:
- 70% of their usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, plus
- the associated Employer National Insurance contributions, and
- pension contributions (up to the level of the minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contribution) on that subsidised furlough pay
How does it work?
Read this step-by-step guide for employers which tells you what information you need to gather before you apply. (2 October 2020)
Find out how to calculate 70% of your employee’s wages, National Insurance contributions (NICs) and pension contributions if you've furloughed staff. (2 October 2020)
Am I eligible?
You can check if you can claim for support. Employers with employees on the payroll at 19 March 2020 who have subsequently put them on furlough can make a claim. (2 October 2020)
How to apply
Make your claim through the UK Government site (9 October 2020)
30 November 2020 is the last day you can submit claims for periods ending on or before 31 October 2020.
Overclaimed?
How to pay all or some of your grant back if you’ve overclaimed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (16 September 2020)
The Job Retention Bonus is a one-off payment to employers of £1,000 for every employee who they previously claimed for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and who remains continuously employed through to 31 January 2021.
Eligible employees must earn at least £520 a month on average between the 1 November 2020 and 31 January 2021.
Employers will be able to claim the Job Retention Bonus after they have filed PAYE for January. Payments will be made to employers from February 2021.
Find out more about the Job Retention Bonus, including eligibility, which employees you can claim for and how to get the bonus.
About the scheme
Small businesses can now apply for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). They have changed eligibility criteria to make it easier for businesses to access funds.
The British Business Bank offers the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) which started accepting applications on 23 March. This scheme will close on 30 November 2020.
This provides facilities of up to £5 million for smaller UK businesses experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cashflow.
CBILS supports a wide range of business finance products, including term loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance. The scheme provides the lender with a guarantee backed by government, potentially enabling a ‘no’ credit decision from a lender to become a ‘yes’. The borrower always remains 100% liable for the debt.
Updates to the Scheme on 3 April 2020
- No personal guarantees for facilities under £250k
- Personal guarantees for facilities above £250k capped at 20% of outstanding balance
- Insufficient security is no longer a condition to access the scheme, opening up access to business who would previously have met requirements for a commercial facility and as such been ineligible for CIBLS
The first two changes will be administered retrospectively by lenders. Any companies who believe they have been rejected for a CIBL loan previously as they did not meet requirements in third bullet are encouraged to re-contact their lender.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible for support, your business must be:
- based in the UK
- with turnover of no more than £45 million per year
- considered capable to trade out of any short-to-medium term difficulty with financial support via the lender
Find more details about CBILS using the following links:
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about CBILS for businesses
- The application process - infographic
- Are you eligible checklist to help you understand if you can apply
How does it work?
CBILS is provided through a wide range of lenders and partners, offering more attractive terms for both businesses applying for new facilities and lenders.
CBILS provides the lender with a partial guarantee (80%), backed by government, against the outstanding facility balance, subject to an overall cap per lender.
The government will also cover the first 12 months of interest payments, so businesses will benefit from lower initial repayments.
How to apply
To apply for finance under the scheme, you should approach a lender directly.
Different lenders provide different types of finance. Here is a list of all lenders available in Scotland, who offer different types of finance.
Term loans
- Bank of Scotland
- Barclays
- Calverton Finance
- Clydesdale Bank
- Compass Business Finance
- County Asset Finance
- DSL Business Finance
- Hitachi Capital Business Finance
- HSBC
- Lloyds Bank
- Metro Bank
- NatWest
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Santander
- UKSE
Asset finance
- Aldermore
- Arkle Finance
- Compass Business Finance
- County Asset Finance
- Haydock Finance
- Hitachi Capital Business Finance
Invoice finance
Overdraft (revolving credit)
How does it work?
The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme is delivered through regular commercial lenders, at commercial rates of interest.
Borrowers under CLBILS can borrow up to 25% of turnover, up to a maximum of £200 million.
Lenders who wish to offer larger loans will need to undergo further accreditation checks.
The government will provide an 80% guarantee on individual loans to give lenders the confidence to support businesses that have been unable to secure financing from regular sources.
Lenders will conduct the usual credit checks, but will make allowances for businesses that were viable before the coronavirus crisis but are experiencing short to medium-term difficulties now.
Businesses will be responsible for repaying any loan they receive under the CLBILS scheme.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible for support, your business must be:
- based in the UK
- turning over between £45 million and £500 million
- unable to secure regular commercial financing
- viable, were it not for the coronavirus pandemic
- experiencing short- to medium-term difficulties that you will be able to trade out of with financial support
How to apply
Find details on how to apply on the British Business Bank website
As well as accessing the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, your business bank can potentially help with other financial support. Here’s a list of the support available from the major business banks.
The Future Fund will issue convertible loans between £125,000 to £5 million to innovative companies which are facing financing difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The scheme is delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and:
- has an initial commitment of £250 million of new government funding
- offers government loans ranging from £125,000 to £5 million to UK-based companies
- is unlocked by private investment on a match funded basis
- is for businesses who typically rely on equity investment and have raised at least £250k equity investment in the last 5 years
- is for businesses unable to access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
- is an investor led scheme and it is the investor who must create an account and apply at the online portal
Apply now. You can apply until the end of September 2020.
Find full details on the British Business Bank website
Creative Scotland
Funding programmes designed to provide further support to sustain the country’s creative community during the COVID-19 outbreak:
- The Hardship Fund for Creative Freelancers is now open for applications. This fund will close when the the budget has been allocated. You should apply as soon as possible.
- The Youth Arts Small Grant Scheme is open for applications. It will help organisations support freelance arts practitioners. The deadline for applications is Monday 2 November 2020
- The Youth Arts Access Fund is now open for applications. This fund is to create access to high-quality music-making for children and young people aged 0-25 years. The deadline for applications is Thursday 12 November 2020
- The Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development will provide support for individuals and organisations to sustain their creative development in the coming months
Museums Galleries Scotland
Museums Galleries Scotland offer 2 funds to help museums:
- Covid-19 adaptation fund to help purchasing equipment and training to reopen
- Recovery and Resilience Fund for independent museums to help them recover from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and build resilience and sustainability. The fund closes at 5pm on Friday 30 October.
Third Sector Resilience Fund
The Third Sector Resilience Fund is part of the £350 million support package announced by the Scottish Government. (8 May 2020)
This Fund will support organisations across the third sector who are at risk of closure due to disruption caused by COVID-19. The main intention of the fund is to help these organisations to stabilise and manage cashflows over this difficult period.
The Fund, delivered by SIS, Firstport and Corra Foundation, will provide grants between £5,000 and £75,000, as well as fully flexible, 0% interest loans starting at £50,000.
As part of this package, people most at risk from the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak are to receive further support following emergency investment in crucial services.
Charities Scottish Women’s Aid, Social Bite and other key partners will share up to £8 million to provide an emergency response and ensure services can react to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Community Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund
Foundation Scotland has announced funding is available between £1,000 and £5,000 for immediate community needs.
The RRR Fund will support local charities and grassroots organisations across Scotland to help them respond to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and recover from its impact.
Only constituted groups, with a governing document, can apply.
Apply via the Foundation Scotland website
Other sources of help
Find support and funding options on the Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub via the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
Read GOV.UK guidance on managing your charity during the coronavirus outbreak (29 September 2020)
Learn from leaders in the social enterprise and third sector and read more advice from Social Investment Scotland.
Guidance for social care workers and employers about the Social Care Staff Support Fund (30 June 2020)
This guidance aims to ensure social care workers do not experience financial hardship if they are ill or self-isolating due to coronavirus.
Funding for early learning and childcare (ELC)
The Scottish Government has published a list of financial and business support that may be available to private and third sector childcare providers and childminders, depending on your individual circumstances. (15 October 2020)
All private and third sector providers who provide funded ELC in their settings will continue to receive payments from their local authority for these funded ELC hours.
Note: Local authorities are no longer legally obliged to deliver 1,140 hours of funded childcare. This statutory requirement will be reinstated at an appropriate time in the future.
Your local authority will be in contact with you to confirm local arrangements of payments for funded ELC hours.
Aquaculture businesses affected by the collapse of international markets due to the coronavirus pandemic can apply to cover the costs of storing unsold stock. (18 June 2020)
A further £3.5 million to help large sea fishing vessels brings the total made available to the seafood industry by the Scottish Government from new and existing funds to £22.5 million. (17 April 2020)
The latest scheme will provide capped payments of up to £21,370 per vessel to businesses with a vessel over 12 metres landing shellfish such as crab, lobster, scallop and langoustine to help them meet fixed costs like insurance. It will also provide up to £42,740 for businesses operating more than one vessel. Amounts will be graduated by fleet segment and length category.
The Scottish seafood sector is to receive an initial package of more than £5 million in financial support to assist businesses during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (25 March 2020)
Funding will be offered to over 650 seafood fishing companies, many of whom have lost their livelihoods with the collapse of export and hospitality markets for Scottish delicacies like langoustine, prawns and crab.
Know your finance options
Scottish Enterprise has useful guides on finance options and debt funding for business:
Use your business plan to secure funding
Finance options for your business
Debt funding for your business
Business Gateway has information on financial management and can advise you on how on to manage cash flow, taxes and more.
COVID-19 corporate financing facility (large firms only)
This new facility will help large firms to raise working capital via the Bank of England directly purchasing short-term debt.
It supports companies that are fundamentally strong but have been affected by a short-term funding squeeze and will allow short-term liabilities to be financed.
It also supports the corporate finance market overall, which eases the supply of credit to all firms.
Am I eligible?
- Companies – and their financial subsidiaries – that make a material contribution to the UK economy are able to participate in the facility
- In practice, firms that meet this requirement would normally be:
- UK incorporated companies, including those with foreign-incorporated parents and with a genuine business in the UK
- companies with significant employment in the UK
- firms with their headquarters in the UK
- We will also consider whether the company generates significant revenues in the UK, serves a large number of customers in the UK or has a number of operating sites in the UK
More on eligibility from the Bank of England
How to apply
The scheme is now open for applications.
In order to access this facility, you will need to contact your bank.
It's important to note that not all banks issue commercial paper (an unsecured, short term debt instrument).
If your bank does not issue commercial paper, UK Finance will provide a list of banks that are able to assist.
Find and apply for current innovation funding calls on the Scottish Enterprise website
These calls are focused on tackling coronavirus (COVID-19), including grants, prizes, accelerators, hackathons and collaboration platforms.
Information for stakeholders of the European and Structural Investment Funds programmes from 2014 to 2020. (31 July 2020)
Business continuity checklist (MS Word Doc, 196kB)
Last updated: Thursday 15 October 2020