Croydon Council has widened the number of small and medium-sized businesses that can qualify for a grant of up to £10,000 to help with the financial impact of Covid-19.
To date the council’s discretionary grants scheme has given over 250 Croydon small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) a total of £943,000 to help with their Covid-19 costs under a first round of applications aimed at those who had lost 40% in income.
This week the council has opened a second round of applications for more Croydon businesses to benefit from a share of £1,964,250 – with wider criteria so dozens more businesses that have lost 20% income since Covid-19 can also qualify.
Businesses with a rateable value of more than £51,000 can receive grants of up to £10,000; those with a rateable value of less than £51,000 can receive up to £5,000 if they have property costs of more than £1,000, or up to £2,500 if their property costs are under £1,000.
To be eligible, businesses must have been trading on 11 March and not received other government funding excluding the Self-Employed Grant or the Job Retention Scheme. The scheme ends on 28 August. Find out more via the council website.
One of the Croydon businesses that benefitted under the first round was Leapfrog Day Nursery in Sydenham Road, which received grant funding of £5,000. This enabled them to purchase equipment, such as steam cleaners, to help them welcome children back safely, and new educational resources about hygiene.
Owner Amina Bryant said: “The funding has really helped us to be able to continue doing what we love; caring for Croydon’s children and keeping them safe.”
Since the start of the pandemic, Croydon Council has distributed around £49m in government grants to more than 3,500 businesses.
“Whether it’s help with business rates, boosting recruitment or encouraging investment, supporting local companies is a key part of what we do – especially since Covid-19.
“That’s why we launched our discretionary fund that has already helped over 250 local SMEs, but we know there are still more eligible businesses out there. So if your business has not yet received any government Covid-19 money, you could be eligible for up to £10,000 from our fund.”
Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, cabinet member for economy and jobs
