£20m has been distributed to Cardiff businesses in grant aid by Cardiff Council in the past four days as part of a COVID-19 rescue package.

Some 1,300 companies applied for the aid which is being administered by the council in Cardiff on behalf of Welsh Government.

It follows Welsh Government’s announcement last week of a £1.4bn support package for businesses in Wales to help them survive during the outbreak.

Since the weekend, further support has also been announced by Welsh Government for companies that have been affected. As of today (Monday, March 30), with an extra £500m being released to help companies that haven’t benefitted from the schemes announced so far.

Further information will be released on the new grant scheme as soon as it is available, but Cardiff Council is urging any business that qualifies for the grants announced last week to get in touch with the council as quickly as possible.

The businesses that are eligible for these grants are:

All businesses which are currently eligible for Small Business Rates Relief, which is those with a rateable value up to £12,000, will receive a grant of £10,000. If you believe you are an eligible business clickherefor the application form and follow the processes outlined.
Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value between £12,001 and £50,000 will receive a grant of £25,000. If you believe you are an eligible business clickherefor the application form and follow the processes outlined.

The financial support offered by these grants is in addition to the non-domestic rates relief scheme announced for 2020-21.

It ensures all retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of £500,000 or less will not have to pay their business rates for one year.

Businesses do not need to apply for the non-domestic rate relief scheme, as this will be administered automatically by the Council through the Council’s Rate Scheme.

Under further measures announced yesterday, a £100m Development Bank of Wales fund will be made available for companies that are experiencing cash flow problems. The new bank will provide loans – based on a favourable interest rate – of between £5,000 and £250,000 to companies that need urgent financial help.

A £400m ‘emergency pot’ has also been announced, which allows businesses that have been effected by the COVID-19 crisis to access emergency funds based on the number of people that they employ.

The new grants announced by the Welsh Government today, are:

A grant of £10,000 is available for businesses that employ up to 9 people
Grants up to £100,000 are available for companies that employ between 10 and 249 people.

This new scheme will also provide support for Welsh companies of critical social or economic importance.