Help for businesses impacted by COVID-19

Following the Government’s Budget pledge on 11 March, together with its additional package of support measures announced on 17 March 2020, Alexander & Co is on hand to help clients access all available support.

We are here to advice and help you through these difficult times.

We will also keep our news pages updated as new announcements are made.

Last updated 09:00 18.03.2020

Summary of measures announced as of 17 March 2020:

• Delivered by the British Business Bank, a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, is being introduced. This will enable those businesses with a turnover of up to £41m to apply for up to a £5 million loan, with no fees and 80% of any losses covered by the government. The first 6 months of this finance will be interest free, with the government covering these initial interest payments.
• Unlimited loans and guarantees to support businesses in managing their cashflows will be provided. Initially, £330 billion of guarantees will be made available.
• Support for liquidity amongst large businesses, with a new scheme being launched by the Bank of England to help them bridge COVID-19 disruption to their cash flows through loans.
• The proposed private sector IR35 reforms (off-payroll working rules) that were due to come into effect on 6 April this year have now been delayed by 12 months until 6 April 2021 (more on this here).
• If Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected your company and you need more time to file your accounts, this may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. It is important that Companies House is contacted before the filing date. If an extension is not applied for in advance and your accounts were filed late, an automatic penalty will still be imposed.
• Time to Pay arrangements (spreading tax payments over a longer period of time) for businesses and self-employed individuals in financial distress and with outstanding tax liabilities may be available on a case-by-case basis.
• Business rates relief will be increased further that what was previously announced in the budget. This means that all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England will receive a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months.
• A £10,000 cash grant (increased from the announced £3,000 in the Budget) to 700,000 of the smallest businesses will become available, delivered by Local Authorities. This is for businesses currently eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rate Relief.
• Further £25,000 grants will be available to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, with a rateable value over £15,000 and below £51,000.
• The cost of providing 14 days of statutory sick pay per employee will be refunded by the Government in full for businesses with less than 250 employees.
• HMRC has opened a dedicated COVID-19 telephone helpline. This is 0800 0159 559.
• Furthermore, new legal powers will be introduced to allow the Government to offer whatever further financial support it believes necessary to businesses.
• The Government has also confirmed that their advice to avoid pubs, clubs and theatres etc. is adequate for businesses to claim on their insurance where they have the appropriate business interruption cover for pandemics.
• The Government will also relax planning regulations to allow pubs and restaurants to start providing takeaways without a planning application.
• In addition to the support announced to businesses, mortgage lenders have confirmed that anyone experiencing issues with their finances as a result of COVID-19, will be provided with support, which will include payment holidays of up to 3 months.

How can we help?

Alexander & Co can provide you with support to help you through this difficult time:

• We can provide advice on funding, including government-backed schemes.
• We can assist with cashflow modelling and sensitivity analysis, to plan for the forthcoming months.
  
• We can negotiate with HMRC with Time to Pay, to delay tax payments. 
• If for any reason, the filing of company accounts need to be delayed, we can manage this on your behalf. 
• We can assist in providing help to with business continuity plans. 
• Alexander & Co is here to support its clients and to regularly provide up to date advice.
  
• We have remote working facilities including cloud-based software packages and video conferencing facilities, to assist throughout this period.

For further information, contact our team of business experts on 0161 832 4841, email info@alexander.co.uk or fill out the form below.