Birmingham City Council officers are knocking the doors of 2,000 eligible businesses to prevent them from missing out on grants of up to £25,000 before the fund closes in August.
In March this year, the Government awarded Birmingham City Council £231 million to provide grants of £10,000 and £25,000 to businesses through the Small Business fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure fund.
To date, more than £206 million has been paid to 17,140 businesses through the two grant schemes, but with 2,000 eligible businesses yet to come forward, time is running out before the fund closes on 28 August.
Cllr Brigid Jones, Deputy Leader for Birmingham City Council, said: “These are not grants that need to be applied for; businesses are automatically eligible if they meet the criteria. All you need to do is provide us with your bank details and verify your business rates details. The money doesn’t need to be repaid; it has been provided to help business who have been most affected by Covid-19, to help them recover from the impact of lockdown.
“To date we have called, text, emailed and written to all the businesses we believe are eligible for this money but with less than a month to go, we are now visiting these premises in person. We know Covid-19 has created adverse hardship for so many businesses across Birmingham which is why we are going the extra mile to connect them with this vital lifeline.”
Most businesses in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rates Relief are automatically entitled to one £10,000 grant per business.
Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or less can receive one £10,000 grant per premise, while those with a rateable value in excess of £15,000, but less than £51,000 can receive one £25,000 grant per premise.
Businesses that do not automatically qualify for either of the grants can check their eligibility to apply for a Discretionary Business Grant when the second, and final, round of applications open on Monday, 3 August at 9am.
During the first round £4.5 million was paid out to more than 1,000 businesses, who received an average of £4,100 each.