Monthly Archives: April 2020

Hot Business News Today

Rishi Sunak rejects 100 per cent guarantee for business interruption loans

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has poured cold water on calls for the Treasury to provide a 100 per cent guarantee for coronavirus business interruption loans.
The government is currently underwriting 80 per cent of loans to small businesses that are struggling for survival.
However, there have been a chorus of voices – including three former Conservative chancellors – calling for that guarantee to be lifted to 100 per cent, as is the case in Switzerland.
>See also: How do I apply for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan?
Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, Mr Sunak said he was “not persuaded” that a total state guarantee was the right thing to do, despite pleas from small businesses being rejected through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Mr Sunak argued that when the plethora of government coronavirus emergency business funding was looked at in total, with grants for small businesses, as well has the furlough scheme which launched yesterday, the British help package was generous.
More significant
Speaking at yesterday’s Downing Street press conference, Mr Sunak said: “Some people have made comparison with what’s going on in other countries. When you look at the totality, what we’re doing is more significant

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Hot Business News Today

Revealed – 6 worst councils for handing out coronavirus business grants

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The government has released figures for the worst- and best-performing local authorities in England when it comes to handing out coronavirus business grants.
Birmingham, Luton, Sandwell in the West Midlands, Slough, South Oxfordshire and Tunbridge Wells are the worst performing local authorities, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Each of the six local authorities have only managed to pay out 11 per cent of their emergency coronavirus business grants allocation, totalling £408m between them.
>See also: How to get the government’s £10,000 cash grant for small businesses
Mike Cherry, national chairman of the FSB, said that some local authorities have only managed to get out between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of their total £12.3bn business support package. Any delay was “inexcusable”, he said.
The top three best-performing local authorities for getting the small business grants out are Winchester City Council, which has completely deployed its £29.2m funding allocation, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (98 per cent) and the London borough of Southwark (93 per cent).
Cherry added: “For many small businesses, access to these grants will decide the fate of their futures, and it’s excellent to see so many local authorities across England getting

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