{"id":5201,"date":"2020-06-15T09:20:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T09:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citylets.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5201"},"modified":"2020-06-15T09:25:38","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T09:25:38","slug":"business-support-grant-scheme-available-to-eligible-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citylets.co.uk\/blog\/business-support-grant-scheme-available-to-eligible-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Support Grant Scheme Available to Eligible Agents"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Scottish Government introduced the Business Support Fund (consisting of a Retail, Hospitality, Leisure Support Grant and a Small Business Support Grant) to help eligible businesses deal with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, lack of clarity about the criteria qualifying for a grant resulted in some Scottish agents<\/a> being denied access to the business support schemes. ARLA Propertymark raised concerns on behalf of its members and the Scottish Government have now confirmed that agents may be eligible for the support at the discretion of local authorities, who will ensure that the grant is offered to those in need and directly affected by the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Agents \u201cmore likely to successfully obtain the grant\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Government\u2019s response reads that local authorities may award a grant to an eligible property business if they are satisfied that it is engaged solely or mainly in marketing property, and not providing the landlord with financial or legal services. This is subject to the local authority being content that the eligibility criteria are met in the individual cases.<\/p>\n

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Daryl McIntosh, ARLA<\/a>\u2019s Strategic\u00a0Development\u00a0Manager\u00a0for\u00a0Scotland\u00a0and\u00a0Northern\u00a0Ireland, said: \u201cIt was commendable the small business grant was made available by the Government to aid businesses through the emergency period. Many agents who required the grant are small local businesses, providing employment and are an essential part of the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the eligibility criteria to obtain the grant was not particularly clear and some agents who had applied were initially refused by the local authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pleasing to see that, following Propertymark\u2019s intervention, the Scottish Government issued clarity to the qualifying criteria meaning agents were more likely to successfully obtain the grant, at the local authority\u2019s discretion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retail, Hospitality, Leisure Support Grant<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Businesses in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure industry can apply for a grant of up to \u00a325,000 for premises with a rateable value between \u00a318,001 and \u00a351,000.<\/p>\n

Small Business Support Grant<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A grant of up to \u00a310,000 is available to small businesses:<\/p>\n