Shortly before Christmas the Government announced additional support for businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors that were being impacted by the rapid
spread of the Omicron strain of Coronavirus. Local Authorities are asked to distribute this grant on behalf of Government. |
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The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant is a one off payment for businesses
occupying a rateable property and eligible businesses will receive grants as follows:
| Relatable Value |
Grant Amount (£) |
| < £15,001 |
2667 |
| £15,001 - £51,000 |
4000 |
| £51,000 > |
6000 |
The Government, through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy (BEIS), have set out the types of businesses that are eligible to apply for the
Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant and the list is included in this article.
Importantly, BEIS require Local Authorities to conduct an application process for
this grant and the Council is not therefore able to make proactive awards based on
previous applications.
Complete the application form.
We are also required to make pre-payment checks on all successful applicants – the speed of
these checks are outside of the Council’s control and this can delay the issue of payments.
We aim to make grant payments within 20 days of receiving an application but I would ask for your help to ensure we get the money to eligible businesses as quickly as possible.
- Please only submit an application form if you operate within an eligible sector (as detailed below) and meet all of the eligibility criteria detailed as part of the application process.
- Please complete the form accurately. Applications from ineligible businesses and incorrectly completed application forms will delay payments to eligible businesses.
- Please only contact us if it is absolutely necessary – time spent answering telephone calls and responding to emails reduces our available capacity to process grant payments.
Thank you in advance for your help and we will endeavour to get much needed support to you as quickly as possible.
BEIS require the application process to close on 28 February 2022 and we must pay
all grants by 31 March 2022.
Eligible Business Sectors
Threshold definitions for the purposes of this scheme are restated below:
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Hospitality definition: a business whose main function is to provide a venue for the consumption and sale of food and drink
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Leisure definition: a business that provides opportunities, experiences and facilities, in particular for culture, recreation, entertainment, celebratory events, days and nights out, betting and gaming
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Accommodation definition: a business whose main lodging provision is used for holiday, travel and other purposes.
The table below sets out types of businesses that are eligible under the sector thresholds for this scheme. This list is not exhaustive, but indicative of the types of businesses that can be supported under this scheme.
You can find out more about the eligibility requirements via the link below.
In response to the rise of the COVID19 Omicron variant, the Government has provided ARG top-up funds to support businesses affected by the Omicron variant. ARG Round 5 (December 2021) will support businesses in the Hospitality, Events, Leisure and Tourism (HELT) sector only that have been severely impacted by the rise of the Omicron variant. The ARG scheme is aimed at those HELT Coventry businesses that do not qualify for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure grant and have been negatively financially impacted in the form of loss of income, trade, or business opportunities.
In all cases the Government require an application form to be submitted. The ARG Round 5 (December 2021) scheme will become available early next week and notification provided through this newsletter. The grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis with the application window open for 10 working days or until funds have been allocated – whichever comes sooner.
Find out in advance the information required to help complete the application form.
We can announce that the West Midlands Gigafactory joint venture has gained support from planning committees and outline planning permission has been granted for our site in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The West Midlands Gigafactory will be the largest Gigafactory in the UK and will begin supplying high-tech batteries for electric vehicles from 2025. It will be the result of a £2.5bn investment, creating up to 6,000 new highly skilled jobs at the facility and thousands more in the wider supply chain across the region.
Health and Life Sciences drop-in clinic with Andrew Shortt
Tuesday, 18 January 2022, 10am - 4pm, STEAMhouse Incubator, Millennium Point
Do you have a business idea within the Health and Life Sciences sector? Would you like to know how the Growth Hub can help?
The Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Growth Hub account manager, Andrew Scott, brings experience in working with start-ups and SMEs within the health tech, biotech, med tech, life sciences, deep tech, CROs, med devices , and pharma industries.
If you are interested in finding out more, email STEAMincubator@bcu.ac.uk to register your interest and book an appointment.
Ethical Equity is the UK’s first dedicated, ethically compliant investment platform connecting ethical startups/scale-ups with like-minded investors
How to navigate the Innovation Journey
Tuesday 25 January, 2pm - 3.30pm, online event
Every year, entrepreneurs create new ideas, products or services but do they fully understand how to navigate that innovation journey?
During this session, KTN (Knowledge Transfer Network Limited) will be presenting their framework and tips on how to address some of these questions around navigating the innovation journey for companies of various sizes or stages of their journey: big, small, sophisticated, basic or early stages or already producing.
Find out more about this event and book early via the link below.
Online Investment Workshop
Thursday, 27 January, 10am - 4pm
How to prepare for investment and finding a route to investors, no matter your background.
The workshop will cover the challenges for entrepreneurs in navigating the investment environment, especially for those with diverse and unconventional experiences, covering all the major milestones such as: where to find the appropriate investors, how to register for SEIS and EIS (the tax incentives which angel investors expect), the different types of investors in the UK, and how to approach early stage investors.
If you are interested in this workshop please email STEAMincubator@bcu.ac.uk to register your interest.
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