Small businesses who occupy serviced office space have missed out on £100m worth of relief which at £10,000 per business could have been a lifesaver for many.
“Put simply, if you don’t have a business rates account for your business with your local authority you get nothing”, explains office expert Jonathan Ratcliffe from Offices.co.uk
The loophole means that if you occupy serviced office space where rates are included (bundled into the serviced package) you are not eligible for the support.
“We think this could effect around 5% of small businesses in the UK, many who are struggling to continue, and it would be an absolute lifesaver”.
Grants are awarded based on Rateable Value – a quick fix in unprecedented times which means that if your office had a RV of less than £15,000 you got a £10,000 cash grant to see you through.
“We are in no way criticising Chancellor Rishi Sunak, absolutely not, he’s had to make some complex decisions in a very short time period, it’s just that businesses in flexible workspaces are missing this lifeline of cash through no fault of their own”, adds Ratcliffe
Both Ratcliffe from Offices.co.uk and Business Matters, on behalf of UK SMEs are writing to Chancellor Rishi Sunak to ask for the following adjustments to the Small Business Grant Funding scheme:
- Recognise all Serviced Office and Co-working tenants as “small businesses with a Rateable Value (RV) of £15,000 and under”
- Make available cash grants of £10,000 for these tenants immediately
- Pay this grant before the 30th April 2020
“It’s a real travesty that just because the rates are paid centrally by the provider that small innocent businesses are missing out on key cash at exactly the time they need it – this month. April 30th is when many small businesses will reach breaking point without help”, concluded Ratcliffe.
