Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Social distancing rules are stopping one in five small businesses from reopening post lockdown.
A substantial 5.7m businesses closed at the height of the pandemic and a third are still shut. From those, one in five can’t reopen with the existing two-metre rule in place and those that can will be facing significant bills, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). A quarter expect to be forking out over £1,000 to meet the social distancing guidelines.
>See also: What is the average cost of fitting out my shop for coronavirus?
The FSB is calling on the chancellor to make some changes to help these small businesses, to boost the economy and to save jobs. One such measure is vouchers that will cover the cost of making workplaces safe. Others include tax cuts, better infrastructure and flexible repayments for businesses that incurred debt during lockdown. It’s being suggested that debt should be repaid in a student loan-style scheme.
On top of that, moves like cutting National Insurance would help employers bring staff back after furlough and contributing towards apprenticeship and training costs would encourage new hires.
FSB chairman, Mike Cherry, said: “Millions of small firms and sole traders
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20% of small businesses can’t reopen with social distancing in place
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Social distancing rules are stopping a huge proportion of small businesses from reopening post lockdown.
A substantial 5.7m businesses closed at the height of the pandemic and a third are still shut. From those, one in five can’t reopen with the existing two-metre rule in place and those that can will be facing significant bills, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). A quarter expect to be forking out over £1,000 to meet the social distancing guidelines.
>See also: What is the average cost of fitting out my shop for coronavirus?
The FSB is calling on the chancellor to make some changes to help these small businesses, to boost the economy and to save jobs. One such measure is vouchers that will cover the cost of making workplaces safe. Others include tax cuts, better infrastructure and flexible repayments for businesses that incurred debt during lockdown. It’s being suggested that debt should be repaid in a student loan-style scheme.
On top of that, moves like cutting National Insurance would help employers bring staff back after furlough and contributing towards apprenticeship and training costs would encourage new hires.
FSB chairman, Mike Cherry, said: “Millions of small firms and sole
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Landlords blocked from evicting small businesses for another three months
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has blocked commercial landlords from evicting small businesses from shops and other premises for another three months until end-September.
The U-turn will come as a huge relief for small businesses struggling to pay rent as businesses reopen post lockdown to uncertain, if non-existent, demand.
Up until yesterday, the draft voluntary code of practice being circulated made no mention of extending the original three-month moratorium on landlords repossessing premises and evicting tenants for non-payment of rent due to Covid-19.
>See also: How to ask for a commercial rent freeze from your landlord
The Government will amend the Coronavirus Act to extend the moratorium on evictions from June 30 to September 30, meaning no business will be forced out of their premises if they a miss a payment in the next three months.
Secondary legislation will prevent landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery unless they are owed 189 days of unpaid rent
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill will be amended, extending the temporary ban on the use of statutory demands and winding-up petitions where a company cannot pay its bills due to coronavirus until September 30
However, the draft code of practice encourages tenants to continue to pay their
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Landlords blocked from evicting small businesses for another three months
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has blocked commercial landlords from evicting small businesses from shops and other premises for another three months until end-September.
The U-turn will come as a huge relief for small businesses struggling to pay rent as businesses reopen post lockdown to uncertain, if non-existent, demand.
Up until yesterday, the draft voluntary code of practice being circulated made no mention of extending the original three-month moratorium on landlords repossessing premises and evicting tenants for non-payment of rent due to Covid-19.
>See also: How to ask for a commercial rent freeze from your landlord
The Government will amend the Coronavirus Act to extend the moratorium on evictions from June 30 to September 30, meaning no business will be forced out of their premises if they a miss a payment in the next three months.
Secondary legislation will prevent landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery unless they are owed 189 days of unpaid rent
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill will be amended, extending the temporary ban on the use of statutory demands and winding-up petitions where a company cannot pay its bills due to coronavirus until September 30
However, the draft code of practice encourages tenants to continue to pay their
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No Government help yet for small businesses as rent quarter day looms
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government is still ruling out extending the three-month moratorium on landlords winding up small businesses because of non-payment of rent due to Covid.
And it is also holding fire on offering any kind of grant to make up the difference between what cash-starved small business tenants can afford, and what’s stipulated in lease agreements.
>See also: Tenants back to facing eviction for non-payment of rent as shops reopen
Today, the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) again refused to sign the draft code of conduct drawn up by Government, saying it wouldn’t make any difference to landlord behaviour.
Bira and other associations including UKHospitality are holding out for Government to extend the three-month moratorium on landlords repossessing units and issuing winding up orders.
Space furlough
They are also pushing for Government to cover gaps in rents, in what they call a “space furlough” scheme. The space furlough would have landlords agree rent reductions, tenants contribute, and the Government provide a grant to fill the gap.
However, draft guidance seen by the Telegraph, makes no mention of either solution to the coming battle between landlords and small business tenants as quarter day looms.
>See also: Commercial landlords banned from using aggressive rent
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MPs urge Government to do more to help self-employed through Covid-19
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
MPs have urged the Treasury to do more to help the 1m or more self-employed and others who have slipped through the cracks of coronavirus funding schemes.
Rishi Sunak is facing calls to “completely fulfil” his promise to do “whatever it takes” to support the economy after MPs concluded that many newly employed staff, self-employed workers, company directors and freelancers have been “locked out” of the Government emergency rescue package.
The Treasury select committee estimates that many hundreds of thousands of people have already endured several months of financial hardship “through no fault of their own”.
>See also: HSBC handling of bounce-back loans branded ‘shambles’ by businesses
Its report on the gaps in support for economic impact of coronavirus found that hundreds of thousands of people are missing out on support because they started new jobs after the cut-off date for qualifying.
Meanwhile, the self-employed income support scheme is not open to an estimated 225,000 people whose trading profits exceed a £50,000 cap. This includes many working in the creative industries whose earnings are just above the cap.
The SEISS also excludes hundreds of thousands of people who became self-employed too recently to have tax records, along with directors
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Only 10% of customers planning to go back to shops when they reopen
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Just 10 per cent of customers plan to go back to non-essential shops when they finally reopen on Monday, June 15.
Another 32 per cent of shoppers do plan to drift back to shops, just not right away, according to a new poll.
However, 37 per cent of customers are either planning to stay away from bricks-and-mortar shops, do all their shopping online, or are still undecided.
>See also: Tenants back to facing eviction for non-payment of rent as shops reopen
And 29 per cent of people say they plan to stay out of shops for some time, social distancing or not.
This latest poll makes depressing reading for independent retailers hoping to bounce back quickly having spent nearly three months shut due to coronavirus.
According to data platform Dynata, one third of those who plan to venture into shops would leave if social distancing measures are not followed.
And 42 per cent of Britons think it’s too early to reopen the High Street in England, with 16 to 34-year-olds believing that the Government has moved too quickly.
People in the South are more reluctant to return to the High Street than those in the North.
Of course, some independent retailers have
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Tenants back to facing eviction for non-payment of rent as shops reopen
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: The Government appears unlikely to extend tenant protection from commercial landlords who want to evict them for non-payment of rent because of Covid-19.
The business department had given shops, pubs and restaurants three months of protection from eviction for non-payment of rent during the coronavirus lockdown.
But a draft code of practice seen by the Financial Times on how landlords should treat commercial tenants as small businesses emerge from lockdown makes no mention of extending the eviction grace period.
>See also: 4 ways small shops can reinvent themselves post coronavirus
Many businesses had assumed the current eviction suspension would be extended past June 24, the next rent quarter day.
If so, many businesses could find themselves forced out of commercial premises for non-payment of rent due to Covid-19.
Instead, the code, which is voluntary, states:
Tenants should pay rent if they can, even if only partially
Landlords who are in a position to show clemency should do so
Tenants should prioritise paying service charges before rents
James Daunt, chief executive of bookshop chain Waterstones, told the FT that what is needed is statutory protection for tenants from aggressive landlords.
Daunt said: “As soon as current protections expire, I think there will be some
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4 ways small shops can reinvent themselves post coronavirus
by Chris Giddins • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Chris Giddins on Small Business
With the Government announcing that shops will be allowed to open from June 15, small shops across the country have been thinking through what to do post coronavirus.
In the face of an incredibly tough retail environment and consumer habits still far from “normal”, reserves of ingenuity and grit will be required. As plans are put together, there are a range of key considerations that businesses must consider in order to re-open safely and successfully.
It won’t be business as usual
We know that the way businesses operate must change. With new Government regulations released on how retailers must keep their stores COVID-19 free, including strict cleaning and hygiene guidelines and advice on keeping the two-metre distance rule, the number one priority for everyone is people’s safety.
But as business owners adapt their stores and consumer shopping habits change, the way we buy will change and it won’t necessarily be for the better.
Without innovation, the experience of visiting your local store will be a tedious process of long queues to stare at products through Perspex screens. This crisis requires creative solutions from retailers to bring back the sense of community, excitement and enjoyment that the high street
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Government pushes back opening shops until June 15
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Non-essential high street shops, department stores and shopping centres won’t be opening until June 15, according to the Prime Minister.
In his announcement last night (May 25), Boris Johnson also said that outdoor markets and car showrooms will be able to open no earlier than June 1 as long as they have social distancing measures in place.
>See also: What is the average cost of fitting out my shop for coronavirus?
Non-essential outlets include:
Clothes and shoe shops
Toy shops
Furniture shops
Auction houses
Tailors
Photography studios
The Prime Minister said he was putting the retail sector “on notice”, with new safety guidance in the process of being published. This gives stores three weeks to introduce measures which will protect customers who may be feeling uneasy about shopping post-lockdown.
As with stores that have been open during lockdown, businesses will be encouraged to put up signs reinforcing social distancing rules and local authorities will be doing spot checks.
Customers will be encouraged to use hand sanitiser and to avoid touching items while they’re browsing. Fitting rooms will be shut and stores will be required to hold returned stock for 72 hours before putting it back on sale. There will also be protective coverings on items