There is financial support available to help businesses that have been impacted by the current lockdown and previous restrictions.

Business grants

This webpage sets out the grants available for businesses impacted by various levels of restrictions. Please note there are likely to be changes to some of the grant schemes as we await further government guidance. This page will be updated with the latest announcements and information.

General information and links

• There are multiple grants available. All of them are outlined on this webpage.
• The Government’s business support hub and the financial support finder may also help you identify which support you may be eligible for.
• The Business Grant application form is available at camden.gov.uk/business-support-grants
• You can sign up to our Camden business e-newsletter to receive the latest announcements.
• If you have further questions about financial support packages, contact us at businessgrants@camden.gov.uk

Lockdown grant – for businesses required to close during the current national lockdown

Businesses that have been required to close due to national restrictions imposed by government as of 5 January 2021 may be eligible for a one-off grant of up to £9,000.

Status update: We are currently awaiting further guidance from government and will update this webpage with information about eligibility and applications as soon as this has been confirmed.

Type of payment: One-off payment of up to £9,000

Eligibility criteria: To be confirmed.

Christmas Support Payment - for "wet-led" pubs impacted by local restrictions during the festive period

The Christmas Support Payment (CSP) supports wet-led pubs that have been severely impacted over the Christmas period due to temporary local restrictions.

Status update: Applications for the CSP grant have now opened. The deadline to apply is 31 January 2021.

Application process:

There are two options to apply. Please read the information below carefully to decide which one applies to your business.

Option a – for businesses who have previously applied for and/or received one of the following grants: Local Restrictions Support Grant (closed), Local Restrictions Support Grant (open) and/or Additional Restrictions Grant.

If you have previously applied for any of the grants listed above and have a case reference we will use your existing case to verify your details. If this applies to you, and you are eligible for the CSP grant, please take the following steps to apply: - Send an email to businessgrants@camden.gov.uk with the subject “CSP Application”

- In the body of your email please state: Your name, name of your business, grant reference number (starting with BSG), and confirm that you meet each of the eligibility criteria for the CSP:

o You must be based in Camden and pay business rates

o You must have been trading as usual on 30 November

o You must be defined as a pub according to the following description as set by central government: open to the general public, allow free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided, allow drinking without requiring food to be consumed and permit drinks to be purchased at a bar.

o You must derive under 50% of income from food sales

o You must not be in breach of State Aid limits

The deadline to apply is the 31st of January. We will review your application and if approved, we aim to make payments by the 28th of February 2021.

We may follow up to request accounting evidence to demonstrate you meet the eligibility criteria.

Option b – for businesses who have not yet applied for any of the following grants: Local Restrictions Support Grant (closed), Local Restrictions Support Grant (open) and/or Additional Restrictions Grant.

If you have not previously applied for any of the grants listed above, we need you to fill out an application form. If this applies to you, and you are eligible for the CSP grant, please take the following steps to apply: - Fill out the application form on https://www.camden.gov.uk/business-support-grants

o On page 1, please select “Standard: Business mandated to close by government as non essential from start of lockdown - LRSG (closed) and/or LRSG (Sector)” and click Yes for the question “Is your business a ‘wet-led’ pub”?

o Please continue to fill out all the required information.

You will receive a confirmation email once your application is submitted.

The deadline to apply is the 31st of January. We will review your application and if approved, we aim to make payments by the 28th of February 2021. We may follow up to request accounting evidence to demonstrate you meet the eligibility criteria.

Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) - for businesses required to close during the lockdown from 5 November – 2 December 2020

The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) is for businesses that were open as usual and were then required to close due to local restrictions, including the lockdown from 5 November – 2 December 2020, and further restrictions thereafter.

Status update: We are still accepting new applications. We are assessing existing applications and aim to get back to businesses as soon as possible. We are currently issuing payments for the LRSG (closed) grant for 2 periods: a payment for the November 2020 lockdown (5 November – 2 December 2020) and further pro rata payments for the period London was in Tier 4 (20 December 2020– 4 January 2021).

Businesses that have received automatic payments or have successfully applied for this grant to cover the November 2020 lockdown, will receive further automatic payments for the period London was in Tier 4 (20 December 2020 – 4 January 2021).

We are awaiting guidance from central government regarding further LRSG Closed payments to make from 5 January 2021 onwards and will update this page once confirmed.

Type of payment: One-off payment for the lockdown in November 2020 (5 November – 2 December 2020) and further pro-rata payments for qualifying restriction periods.

1-month lockdown (5 November - 2 December 2020)

• Properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under may receive a grant of £1,334 for the November 2020 lockdown.
• Properties with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000 may receive a grant of £2,000 for the November 2020 lockdown
• Properties with a rateable value over £51,000 may receive a grant of £3,000, for the November 2020lockdown.

16-day pro-rata payments for Tier 4 (20December 2020 - 4 January 2021)

• Properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under may receive a grant of £762.29 for the 16-day period of 20 December 2020 – 4 January 2021.
• Properties with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000 may receive a grant of £1,142.86 for the 16-day period of 20 December 2020 – 4 January 2021.
• Properties with a rateable value over £51,000 may receive a grant of £1,714.29 for the 16-day period of 20 December 2020– 4 January 2021.

If you have more than one qualifying business property, you may receive a grant for each property. Some claimants will have made claims for multiple properties under the same claim form, in which case the payments for both the original lockdown scheme and the 16-day payments will be a combined payment for the properties they claimed against.

Eligibility criteria:

• You must be based in Camden and pay business rates 
• You must have been required to close by Government* during the national lockdown
• You must have been trading as usual until the day lockdown came into force (Thursday 5 November 2020) and not in the process of liquidation
• You must not be in breach of State Aid limits

*Restaurants that started providing takeaway service and businesses that set up a click and collect service are still eligible as their substantive business has had to close. Businesses that chose to close but were not required to or new businesses opening after 5 November 2020 will not be eligible for a grant.

How to apply

If you have not received an automatic payment, please fill in an application. Separate applications may be required for each business property.

Apply for a Local Restrictions Support Grant (closed)

Local Restrictions Support Grant (Sector) - for sectors required by Government to close

This grant is for businesses in sectors required to close since 23 March 2020, namely; nightclubs, dance halls, sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars.

Status update: This scheme is currently superseded by the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (Closed). Business in impacted sectors will receive closure grants as set out above for the period of lockdown as well as a pro-rata backdated payment from the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (Sector) for the period 1 November to 4 November 2020. If these businesses are still required to be closed at the end of lockdown, it will reopen automatically.

Type of payment: Recurring payment per 14-day restriction period.

• Properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under will receive a grant of £667 (per 14-day qualifying restriction period)
• Properties with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000 will receive a grant of £1,000 (per 14-day qualifying restriction period)
• Properties with a rateable value over £51,000 will receive grant of £1,500 (per 14-day qualifying restriction period)

• You must have been required to close since 23 March (nightclubs, dance halls, sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars)
• You must have continued trading but their venue remained closed and not repurposed into another type of business allowed to stay open during that time (e.g nightclub to a bar).

The Council is expecting to award these payments to businesses automatically and without an application process.

Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) - for businesses severely impacted by restrictions (closed for applications)

Applications for the Council's Additional Restrictions Grant scheme are now closed. We are in the process of reviewing existing applications and aim to get back to businesses as soon as possible. We anticipate that there will be a further opportunity to apply for this fund – any reopening of the scheme will be promoted via our website and newsletter.

Local Restrictions Support Grant (open) - For businesses remaining open but impacted by tier restrictions (closed for applications)

Status update: Applications for Camden’s Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (open) scheme are temporarily closed. We will start assessing existing applications shortly.

Closed grants

There were two grant funding schemes available until 28 August 2020:

• the Small Business Grant Fund; and
• the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund

Unfortunately, applications received after this date cannot be processed as we do not have discretion to make payment to late applications once the scheme ended.  

If we received your application by 28 August 2020, we will be in touch regarding the outcome shortly.

More information on the two grants is available on the government website.

What we are doing

As of 23 August 2020 we have issued 3,850 awards to eligible businesses under the two government business grant schemes, totalling £72.4m, with more processed in the final week and we will continue to process those received before the deadline of 28 August 2020.  We have exceeded our original funding by £1.26m to date.

Throughout the duration of the scheme attempts were made to contact potentially eligible businesses to apply through letters to the property, any forwarding address or registered office, emails sent inviting application where we held email addresses and our property inspectors visited a number of properties to try encourage applications face to face.

Discretionary grant fund

The application window for Camden Council’s Discretionary Grant Fund scheme was open from 9 June to midday on 19 June. We received a significant number of applications and we are currently reviewing and prioritising the cases for payment.

If you have any related general queries on doing business in Camden please direct them to the economic development team.

Self-employed grant

The Government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme has been extended to provide an additional grant for the three-month period covering November 2020 to January 2021.

The grant will cover 80% of average monthly trading profits, paid in a single instalment covering three months of profit up to £7,500. HMRC will provide details of how to claim via gov.uk in the coming weeks. Read more at gov.uk/government/publications/self-employment-income-support-scheme-grant-extension/self-employment-income-support-scheme-grant-extension.

Extension to the furlough scheme

The Government have announced that they are extending the furlough scheme through to March 2021. This means businesses that previously furloughed employees will continue receiving support to pay wages up to £2,500 per month. Employers can also enrol any staff that were added to their payroll before Saturday 31 October. Find out more at gov.uk/government/news/government-extends-furlough-to-march-and-increases-self-employed-support

The government have announced a number of schemes for businesses affected by coronavirus to access loans more easily. 

Bounce Back Loans: Open to small and medium-sized businesses through a simple application process to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000. No fees, interest or repayments to pay for the first 12 months, and loan terms will be up to 6 years. 

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS): access to loans, overdraft, invoice finance and asset finance of up to £5 million for up to 6 years. No fees, interest or repayments to pay for the first 12 months. 

Applications are no longer limited to businesses that have been refused a loan on commercial terms, extending the number who benefit. Banks will be banned from asking company owners to guarantee loans with their own savings or property when borrowing up to £250,000.

Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS): aimed at larger firms with a turnover of between £45m and £500m, providing state-backed loans of up to £25m.

What you need to do

More information on the scheme can be found on the government website including how to check if you are eligible.

On Sunday 5 July 2020, the government announced a 1.57bn recovery package for the arts, culture and heritage sector, with 1.15bn available for England.

Visit Camden Arts for more information.

Camden Council is committed to supporting business tenants in our commercial properties during this difficult time.  

What we are doing

We are contacting commercial tenants in Camden Council-owned properties and will provide support where we can to those who are facing difficulty in paying their rent.
For those businesses in our properties who have contacted us (or wish to contact us) about their rent, we are proposing to defer collection and are speaking to tenants over the course of the next few days and weeks to discuss individual circumstances.
 
Whilst business tenants will still be liable for this rent, this will give you time to plan ahead and ensure the future continuation of your business in the premises leased to you by the Council. In order to ensure we provide a coherent business support package, when we call we will be asking for some further information around how your business has been affected, for example, your drop in trade, any forced closure, reduced staff and what government grants you may have applied for etc. We are also likely to ask for the provision of supporting financial documentation.

What you need to do

If you are a business tenant in a Camden property and would like to talk to us about you rent you can get in touch via 020 7974 6459 or email us at commercialrents@camden.gov.uk

There is a host of additional support available during this time including the following:

Social distancing support and advice

Camden’s frontline presence team are out across Camden 7 days a week providing support and advice to businesses. You’ll recognise our officers as they’ll be wearing Camden high visibility jackets with ‘stay home, protect the NHS, save lives’ on them. It’s really important that everyone follows social distancing guidance to stop the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and to save lives. As part of their role the team are providing posters (which you can also download here) and advice to local businesses to make sure that they are maintaining 2m distancing to protect customers and their workforce. You can find more information on the teams here.

Business support finder

The government has launched a Coronavirus Business Support Finder tool, to support businesses easily find the support they’re eligible for.

Tackling cash-flow

The Mayor of London has launched the PayItForward campaign, to support London businesses in the Retail, Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism sectors to pre-sell vouchers, goods and services for delivery once the restrictions are lifted.

Paying tax

If you or a member of your workforce are worried about being able to pay tax as a result of Coronavirus, call HMRC’s dedicated helpline on 0800 0159 559. You are now able to choose to defer any VAT payment due between the 20th March and 30th June. Find out more about deferred VAT payments the government website.

Support for workers

If you or your staff have concerns on financial support you can find out more via our page on financial support for workers. Camden Job Hub can also provide direct support to any Camden resident on employment matters including links to vacancies, support for CVs and applications and access to financial support. You can register for Camden Job Hub's help via our website.  If any of your employees have a zero-hours contract, please let them know they’ll be able to access Universal Credit and the new Employment Support Allowance. More information on zero hours contracts and Universal Credit is on the government website.

Statutory sick pay

Statutory Sick Pay will be available from day 1 rather than day 4 and if you employ fewer than 250 people, the cost of providing 14 days of Statutory Sick Pay per employee will be refunded in full by the government. Find out more about statutory sick pay on the government website.

Mortgages

Some mortgage lenders will support customers who are experiencing financial difficulties by giving them mortgage holidays for up to 3 months. Contact your provider for information.

Newsletters and email updates

We send regular information for businesses by e-newsletter. Sign up to receive future editions.

Our new frontline presence teams are also out daily supporting businesses on high streets and markets across the borough with advice and support on social distancing. You can see what the teams have been up to on our news page.

Laptops and iPads needed to help vulnerable pupils learn at home

We know that times are tough for businesses right now, but we are calling for any businesses who might be able to donate spare laptops and iPads for vulnerable students to get in touch. We are looking to support children who don’t have a device at home to help them to access vital online learning while schools are closed.

The Council is also working with Camden Learning, schools, community groups and local businesses to find ways to ensure pupils have a Wi-Fi connection in their homes.

If your business has any laptops or iPads that you can donate to a school in Camden that are less than five years old and in good condition, we will collect them from you and work with schools to distribute them to children who most need them.

Companies can also make financial donations and sponsor schools to help purchase or repurpose laptops for students.

Use the short form here to tell us about your laptops or iPads.

Can you support young people with virtual work experience?

We are calling on Camden employers to be part of a pioneering Virtual Work Experience Programme, providing local students, with their first experiences of work this June/July.

We know that many Camden students will have had their crucial first experiences of work cancelled. Work experience has a significant positive impact on young people’s outcomes, particularly on those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This is why Camden has partnered with Speakers for Schools – a national educational charity backed by employers including the Bank of England, BP, Marie Curie and Spotify – to offer STEAM Pledge employers the opportunity to provide Virtual Work Experience (VWEX).

For further information on how to get involved contact Steampledge@camden.gov.uk