Sandwell Council has extended its Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) Top Up Scheme for business applicants with the launch of two new categories.

The two new categories are:

ARG Top Up Category 1- Return from Furlough, a single £10,000 one off grant to support VAT registered businesses who have retained staff following their participation in the HMRC furlough scheme.

ARG Top Up Category 2- Businesses who have not previously claimed any Covid Support Grants, a single one-off grant of £5,000, £7,500 or £10,000 to provide grant funding opportunity for any businesses which has not previously received any Sandwell Council Covid-19 Support Grants.

Businesses can apply for the grants on the grant portal on the council website.

The Additional Restrictions Grant was introduced to support businesses affected by restrictions or lockdowns due to Covid-19. It is a discretionary scheme to support mainly those businesses affected by the pandemic that are not eligible to obtain support from other grant schemes. ARG funding is used to make discretionary grants direct to eligible businesses and to undertake wider business support activities.

Councillor Iqbal Padda, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and growth said:

“I welcome these two additional categories to the Additional Restrictions Grants scheme as they enable and encourage local businesses to grow, boost the economy and ensure more people keep their jobs through these difficult times. I would encourage any businesses that are eligible to apply for the grants available.”

Also check out our ‘Access to Finance‘ and ‘Coronavirus Support‘ pages for more information and advice.