Weekly Digest – 6 May 2020

By the time you read this, we may know more of the government’s plan to ease lockdown restrictions. Obviously, getting people back to work will help restart the economy which is good news for all of us.

So in this week’s digest, as well as reminding you about government support for businesses, we’ve included a number of resources to help with navigating your business out of the dire situation we’ve all been in. No doubt there are still tough times ahead but there are many reasons to be hopeful and we’re here to help you through.

There were no new announcements from government this week but we would remind you about:

Find help for your business

The government created an online tool to help you find out what support your business is eligible for.

It can be tricky understanding what is available and this tool will help but please get in touch if you’d like to chat through any questions.

Bounce Back Loans

The “Bounce Back” loan scheme launched on May 4th. The scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.

The government will guarantee 100% of the loan and there won’t be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months.

Loan terms will be up to 6 years. No repayments will be due during the first 12 months. The government will work with lenders to agree a low rate of interest for the remaining period of the loan.

You can read more on the government business support website but if you’d like to discuss applying for this loan or any other funding, please contact us.

Time for a new business plan?

I’m guessing you didn’t factor and global pandemic and national lockdown into your 2020 business plan!

So it’s definitely a good time to revisit your business plan for the next year. We know that writing a plan can feel like a big effort so here’s a template to make it easier. Please get in touch if you’d like to talk about your plan – especially the financial parts like cash flow.

Is it a good time to hire staff?

If you’re lucky to have a business in a sector not dramatically affected by the Coronavirus shutdown, it could be the perfect time to hire.

This article from the Harvard Business Review outlines the opportunity and steps to seize upon it.

Here to help

We’re committed to helping you through the head winds of the next few months. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are all in this together!