84% of businesses in Hertfordshire that are eligible for a Small Business Grant have been paid, with 89% of the allocated funding now disbursed. Despite delays and initial teething problems, all local authorities are managing to get the majority of due payments out of the door. The remainder may be accounted for by harder-to-reach businesses or those businesses that may have ceased or are about to pause trading. Surveys by the Federation of Small Businesses suggest that 9% of SME owners plan to sell, close or pass on their business. 

There are emerging signs of industrial activity picking up as businesses respond to the Prime Minister’s call to return to work. However, businesses are raising concerns about the implementation of employee health and safety policies and processes, and employer liability issues that may arise from staff returning to work while the virus is still prevalent.

There has been a significant increase in the number of scams being reported to Trading Standards, with an estimated 400% rise in notifications.

Hertfordshire Growth Hub enquiries remain stable, although still well above the norm. A year-on-year comparison of delivery to the end of March demonstrates a 170% rise in outputs - a good indication of the impact COVID-19 has had. Growth Managers have reported that a significant number of conversations this week (35%) have been with existing clients looking to progress growth plans while trading is quiet, which they may have otherwise struggled to focus on.

Government funding updates

The Coronavirus Future Fund is open for applications from 20 May. This scheme will issue convertible loans between £125,000 and £5m to innovative companies, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors. These loans may be a suitable option for businesses that typically rely on equity investment and are unable to access other Government business support programmes because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit. The Future Fund is being delivered by the British Business Bank.

On 19 May, Government announced an extension in the maximum loan size available through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme from £50m to £200m. Loans under the expanded scheme will be made available from next week. Additional changes means that companies receiving help through the scheme and the Bank of England’s Coronavirus Corporate Financing Fund must agree not to pay dividends and to exercise restraint on senior staff pay.

Hertfordshire LEP funding updates

Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2: a new £22m+ investment initiative to support SMEs that are making a positive impact on greenhouse gas reduction through the development of innovative technologies, products or services. This initiative is led by the University of East Anglia and Norfolk County Council, with support and investment via the European Structural and Investment Funds from Hertfordshire LEP, New Anglia LEP and Greater Cambridgeshire and Peterborough LEP. The fund is now open for applications from businesses across the three LEP areas.

Volunteer Business Support Scheme: a Hertfordshire Growth Hub service providing additional peer-to-peer advice and support to businesses adversely affected by COVID-19. Work has continued at pace on the development of the scheme and the University of Hertfordshire has now received over 50 applications since the call for volunteers went live on 5 May. Express your interest in becoming a volunteer.

Hertfordshire Business Expansion Grant Scheme: grants of £10k - £100k to support SMEs with capital  expenditure. Hertfordshire Growth Hub has had 14 clients reach the expression of interest stage.

Crowdfund Hertfordshire: Small Business Innovation Fund: grants of up to £5,000 for small/micro businesses in tourism, leisure, hospitality, retail, arts and culture. The scheme has had eight enquiries so far, including two applications. The scheme has been promoted by Visit Herts, Creative England, local Economic Development Officers, Chambers of Commerce, and BIDs, with a radio campaign planned for this week. 

The 'Crowdfund Hertfordshire' platform has been set up to give local groups and businesses an opportunity to secure funds in a new way. The platform currently hosts Hertfordshire LEP's Small Business Innovation Fund (above - part of its £3.28m package of measures to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19), as well as Hertfordshire County Council's Community Innovation Fund (details below). It is hoped that district and borough councils will add further funds later this year.

Crowdfund Hertfordshire: Community Innovation Fund: this initiative supports community projects benefitting adults in Hertfordshire. Projects launching as part of Crowdfund Hertfordshire could be eligible for extra funding from Hertfordshire County Council, with an opportunity to secure a pledge for 50% of the applicant's funding target or up to £5,000. This fund is for projects run by the voluntary and community sectors and members of the public.

Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce reports that members Bambuu Brush (Hitchin) has donated mobile phones and chargers, Nemco (Stevenage) has donated £1,000 Amazon vouchers, and Grace Foods (Welwyn Garden City) has donated an assortment of drink products to NHS West Essex CCG.

Hoddesdon-based Pharmaron (pictured) has also supplied almost 1,000 litres of handrub to NHS West Essex CCG, as well as an assortment of PPE gloves to Garden House Hospice Care in Letchworth Garden City.

Housing developer Barratt & David Wilson Homes (Watford), has provided 52 protective masks to staff at Watford General Hospital. A request to its contractors for assistance with further PPE donations has resulted in the collection of financial contributions, 800 face masks, 50 face visors and hand sanitisers (pictured).

Social enterprise CHEXS (Waltham Cross) is working in partnership with Broxbourne foodbank and Holdbrook Primary School to deliver vital food supplies to families in need.

Harkness Screens has repurposed its manufacturing facility in Stevenage, along with its skilled material handling technicians and high-quality heavy-duty PVC, to create a new range of products to support the COVID-19 response. These include face visors and washable aprons for business and frontline use, to partition screens to support social distancing measures in offices and other public buildings.

Hunton Park Hotel (Kings Langley) and The Manor Elstree have remained open throughout lockdown for NHS staff and key workers, with accommodation available on a room-only basis, and room service and ‘breakfast-on-the-go’ provided to help maintain social distancing.

The County Councils Network (CCN), which represents 36 county and unitary local authorities in England, is calling on the Government to introduce a £5bn income guarantee to prevent them from having to declare insolvency during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CCN says that severe uncertainty regarding future income, including council tax payments, coupled with growing cost pressures, is contributing to councils’ fears that they may have no choice but to issue a section 114 notice. This would mean the suspension of non-essential expenditure and implementing in-year cutbacks to services, including those aimed at fighting the spread of Coronavirus.

Shopping centre operator Intu Properties, owner of Intu Watford (pictured), is seeking standstill agreements from its lenders whereby it would not have to pay back borrowings until the end of 2021, with a pay-if-you-can interest agreement to provide stability until the property market settles down. It had previously secured waivers from some lenders to prevent breaches of its debt commitments until 26 June.

The BBC is set to resume the filming of EastEnders at Elstree Studios at the end of June. The set’s £87m redevelopment has also resumed following Government’s announcement allowing construction work to restart.

Haven, part of Bourne Leisure Ltd. (Hemel Hempstead), has announced that its 40 holiday parks will remain closed until at least 2 July, marking the third extension made since the COVID-19 crisis started. 

Landsec, one of Britain’s biggest property companies and owner of The Galleria shopping centre in Hatfield which is currently closed, said the value of its property portfolio had fallen by 9% (£1.18bn) to £12.8bn in the year to 31 March. Losses before tax has risen to £837m from £123m the previous year. Only 38% of rent due was collected compared to 90% in the same period last year. The firm is bracing for more empty units in its malls and offices.

Stevenage Football Club warns of significant financial challenges and the possibility of being left with just three registered players still contracted to the club once the 30 June deadline passes.

The University of Hertfordshire’s Law Clinic has won the award for ‘best new pro bono activity’ at the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards. The clinic was launched in October 2019 in response to legal aid cuts, and offers free support to those on low incomes seeking advice on family law, as well as small businesses seeking advice on intellectual property and commercial law.

Sales promotion agency Supremia International (Elstree) has gone into administration. The company, which was acquired by a global group two years ago, has faced challenges during COVID-19 and was further impacted by the insolvency of its parent Supremia NV, resignations of its appointed directors, and guarantees provided to other group undertakings. The business and its subsidiaries in the US, Russia, Hong Kong and Singapore are being marketed for sale. 

In the latest ONS Coronavirus Business Survey, 44% of businesses who had not permanently ceased trading between 20 April and 3 May reported that their cash reserves would last less than six months.

1% of businesses who had paused trading applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to cover the pay of furloughed workers, compared to 72% of businesses who were still trading. Less than 1% of firms said they had permanently ceased trading between 20 April and 3 May.

UK GDP fell by 5.8% in March 2020, with all sections of the UK economy suffering dramatic declines in activity. Sectors that experienced particularly sharp declines in March include:

• wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (10.7% drop);
• accommodation (14.6% drop);
• travel agents (23.6% drop); and
• transport equipment-manufacturing, which declined by 20.5% as car factories shut down.

Nationally, the Claimant Count increased from 3.5% (1.24m) in March to 5.8% (2.1m) in April – the largest monthly increase since 1947. Total employment fell by 457,000 in one month – from March to April. 

Hertfordshire’s claimant count increased by 81%, from 14,370 claimants unemployed in February to 26,015 in April. This increased the claimant rate from 1.9% to 3.5% in one month – beyond the biggest increase in the 2009 recession (2.8% in July 2009). East Hertfordshire recorded the highest increase in claimant unemployment, rising by 119.4% from 1,135 (1.2%) in March to 2,490 (2.7%) in April. 

More than one-fifth of UK employers plan to make redundancies over the next three months, with entry level jobs reduced by 23% this year. Hiring intentions are at their lowest level in 15 years, with more than a quarter of private sector employers planning to cut staffing levels over the three months to July. 

Official statistics show that vacancies have been cut dramatically, with 350,000 unfilled positions across the economy last month, down from 750,000 in March. Reflecting lockdown and furloughing - early estimates suggest the number of hours worked in Britain fell in the last two weeks of March, with the amount of time spent working reduced to around 25% below normal levels.