In this issue
Reigate & Banstead Business Champions
Self- Employment Income Support Scheme (second grant)
Coronavirus business support
Legionnaire's Disease
Matched funding grant scheme
Reigate & Banstead Local Discretionary Grant scheme now open
Opening your food business
Business survey
Free Bira Temporary Membership Support package
What's on
Don't miss out on these great online networking events
Book your space now #togetherapart

3 June 19.30 Women in Business Club, Reigate, The theme for June is Giving

 

4 June 14.00 15 min SEO training VA marketing and webdesign.  Book your space now  

 

6 June 3-4pm Metall Round table event to share your experiences, for Manufacturing and Engineering businesses book now  

 

Daily lunch and learn sessions with Enterprise Nation,  book your space and read the full schedule.

 

Various dates Learning Online Website & Digital Marketing Insight Clinics, with Web Motivation Book here 

 

*COMING SOON* We have missed you all, its time to come back, keep your eyes peeled on the Reigate & Banstead Eventbrite page for some virtual learning lunches.  We can guarantee great speakers, friendly faces and no queues at the coffee machine. 

 

Join your local Business Guild

 

Business Guilds are a great way to be part of your local business community. 

 

Banstead - fully committed to helping Banstead become the most vibrant village in Surrey in which to live and work. They are a group of local businesses that recognise our responsibility to the greater community.


Redhill -
enhancing Redhill as a place to live, work and do business.


Reigate -
a local united voluntary voice from the business community, promoting commerce, events, activities and opportunities for the benefit of Reigate.

 

Horley Association of Traders - HATs is an open group that all traders and members of the public can join.  They continue to drive awareness of Horley as a town and to promote local business growth.

Funding/Consultations
Funding and awards

Reigate & Banstead Business Support Grant Do you have a business based in the borough with less than four employees? Are you looking to grow?  Why not apply for our Business Support Grant of up to £1,000? 

 

Successful business grant applicants will also receive one year's membership to Enterprise Nation. 

 

Do you need start-up funding for your business?  Struggling to get funding from a mainstream provider? Have a look at responsible finance provider Fredericks Foundation, who may be able to help.

Tools
It's quicker to report things, make payments and apply for services online.
Reigate & Banstead Local Discretionary Grant scheme now open
 

Further government funding for small and micro businesses impacted by Covid-19 has been announced.  The funding will provide financial assistance to businesses with fixed accommodation costs and who were not eligible for Grants under the Small Business Grants Fund or Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund.  Please note – if your business has already received payments from either of these funds, you will not be eligible to apply under this new scheme.

We will be inviting applications from small or micro businesses from Wednesday 3rd June 2020 to Friday 19th June 2020 (application process closes at midnight and no payments will be made after the closing date has passed). The maximum Grant that will be paid out by Reigate & Banstead is £10,000.

We want to help as many local businesses as possible but are expecting the funding to be oversubscribed, so please check your eligibility before applying. To be eligible to apply the business must be:

  • A small or micro business with a turnover of not more than £10.2 million.
  • The balance sheet total must not exceed £5.1 million
  • The total number of employees must be less than 50.
  • The business must have ongoing accommodation costs, which includes rent, mortgage or business rates
  • You do not exceed the limits of State Aid
  • You can only apply for a grant for one business that was trading from an address within the borough on or before 11th March 2020

In addition, under our criteria the following businesses will not be eligible:

•   Car parking spaces

•   Land and property used for personal storage or leisure

•   Advertising rights

•   ATMs

•   Bluetooth boxes and telephone communication masts

•   Show homes

•   Any business property that falls outside of the boundaries of Reigate & Banstead borough

•   Coin-operated amusement rides and vending machines

•   Properties used for AirBnB

•   Businesses operating from a domestic property, (unless as a registered Bed & Breakfast business)

 

The full Local Authority Discretionary Scheme can be read online.

 

Apply for the grant. You will be asked to confirm to provide evidence of how your business has been affected, and evidence of your ongoing accommodation costs. These can be uploaded with the application

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Events
Reigate & Banstead Business Champions
 

Many of our local businesses have been seriously impacted by the ongoing social distancing guidelines but with resilience and hard work, they have been finding alternative ways to deliver their goods and services.  This week we celebrate four of our local businesses that have been busy putting ‘Plan B’ into action to keep serving their local communities.

 

This week’s champions:

Boogie Monsters in Redhill – a live rock and pop band for children and their families.  Unable to perform together as a band during lockdown, the band’s founder, Kelly, and her daughter have been entertaining their fans from home with live, interactive online request sessions on the Boogie Monsters VIP Club Facebook Group – fun for the whole family!

 

The Fresh Coffee Company in Reigate.  When local cafes and restaurants closed, wholesale coffee suppliers needed to act fast to ensure their loyal customers could continue to enjoy a quality coffee at home, and so they set about creating a new online shop and home delivery service.

 

Simply Delicious in Chipstead has pivoted the business from takeaway sandwich shop to community grocery store in order to support their local community during lockdown with essential groceries, fruit and vegetable and home delivery for the vulnerable.

 

Great Outdoor Fitness in Reigate.  With their community in lockdown, GO Fitness had to be quick off the blocks to find an alternative solution to deliver their regular outdoor training sessions!  Practically overnight, they pivoted the business to provide online training and workouts to their community stuck at home.

 

If you know of a #ReigateBansteadBusinessChampion that deserves a mention, please let us know.

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Self- Employment Income Support Scheme (second grant)
 

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will be extended - with those eligible able to claim a second and final grant capped at £6,570 in August. Find out more here

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Coronavirus business support

Supporting our business community has never been more important.  The Government has set out a package of measures on their Coronavirus business support website.

 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) support is available to employers and the self-employed. You may be eligible for loans, tax relief and cash grants. Use this business support finder to see what support is available for you and your business.

 

The furlough scheme is changing! From 1 July 2020, businesses will be given the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part time. This is a month earlier than previously announced to help support people back to work. Individual firms will decide the hours and shift patterns their employees will work on their return, so that they can decide on the best approach for them - and will be responsible for paying their wages while in work.

From August 2020, the level of government grant provided through the job retention scheme will be slowly tapered to reflect that people will be returning to work. That means that for June and July, the government will continue to pay 80% of people’s salaries. In the following months, businesses will be asked to contribute a modest share, but crucially individuals will continue to receive that 80% of salary covering the time they are unable to work. Read more

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Legionnaire's Disease
 

Businesses are urged to carry out vital safety processes when preparing to reopen, particularly to reduce the risk of Legionnaire’s disease. The CIEH has published some guidance which is worth a read.

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Matched funding grant scheme
Open for applications
 

The new Business Hothouse scheme provides support for businesses in the Coast to Capital area (which includes Reigate & Banstead).  Invest4 Grant funds are available to both pre-start and to growing established businesses. The grant fund offered is known as ‘match-funding’, where a business must agree to provide 60% of the required investment to which the funding body will then ‘match-fund’ the 40% balance. Business grants from £2,000 to £170,000 can be secured and will be awarded through the Invest4 programme managed by Brighton & Hove City Council.

 

You can contact the fund manager to find out more information and read further details before applying.

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Other news
Opening your food business
 

Are you a food business planning to reopen? The FSA has published a reopening checklist, which is a great way to guide you through the process safely. It includes topics like Covid-19 safety measures, cleanliness, pest control, stock checks, hand washing, PPE and Legionella risks. If you need any further support on reopening your food business, please contact our Food Safety team.

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Business survey
 

Coast to Capital is looking to understand the impact of Covid-19 on businesses in East Surrey, as well as offering advice on how to deal with that impact. The information is gathered by completing a simple survey (a 20-30 minute call) and will also be used to inform Central and Local Government on local business needs. If you’d like to take part then please visit their website.

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Free Bira Temporary Membership Support package
 

To support independent retail businesses during the Coronavirus outbreak, Bira are providing UK independent retail businesses with temporary membership of the Association for three months for a nominal fee of £1, £5 or £10, all proceeds of which will be donated to the Rainy Day Trust. Any UK independent retailer can sign up for membership until Tuesday 30th June 2020 and that access can be used for the next three months.

 

This temporary membership is being provided to give retail businesses access to Bira's membership benefits to help them to get through the months ahead. Resources include advice on selling your products online and educational content to help you to market online.

 

Find out more

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