NEW ‘RESTART’ grants for the firms hardest hit by Covid-19 have been welcomed by business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire.
A further £5bn is being made available to high street firms and the hospitality sector, with grants of up to £18,000 on offer to individual businesses, it was revealed last weekend.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said it was crucial to get the money to businesses as quickly as possible – and that she had every confidence in the local authorities in the region to do that.
She said: “Businesses are desperate to get back to being able to trade again but for those that have, essentially, been dormant they are going to need help and these restart grants will be extremely welcome from that point of view.
“The key is getting the money to firms that need it as quickly as possible so they can avoid a cashflow cliff edge and, also, prepare themselves to get back to business.
“The local authorities in Coventry and Warwickshire have done an amazing job during the Covid-19 crisis in acting quickly and it’s vital that they do that once again to get this cash to those businesses that need it most.
“We all understand that the money will need to be paid back at some point but it’s too early, with the economy still some way off reopening in full, to expect that of business.”
Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Chambers of Commerce have campaigned for additional grants to support the cash flow of our hardest-hit businesses, particularly those who have faced severe restrictions or closure in recent months.
“We welcome the announcement of these additional cash grants, which will be a lifeline for many firms as they look to restart and rebuild over the challenging months ahead. The Government, devolved administrations and local authorities must now make sure that cash gets to the front line fast.”
