High streets in the UK are on the brink of collapse as the eight-week countdown to the next quarterly rent instalment begins.
This is according to the #RaiseTheBar campaign, which has released figures showing that nearly 55,000 businesses from pubs to shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, galleries and gyms are currently unable to access the government’s £25,000 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant [RHLG] due to their business rates valuation falling between £51,000 – £150,000.
#RaiseTheBar highlights that industry bodies, associations and business owners have said plans for a £617m discretionary fund, announced by the government on 2 May, do not go far enough with no guarantees local authorities will issue relief. The government has made clear that this fund is for specific purposes, none of which support businesses with a rateable value between £51,000 to £150,000.
The #RaiseTheBar campaign estimates a maximum of £1.37bn in government support is needed to enable the RHLG grant to support all 54,638 businesses falling within a business rates threshold of £51,000 to £150,000. The campaign group is calling on the government to raise the £51,000 business rates threshold cap to £150,000 to give businesses in these sectors the chance to survive by avoiding bankruptcy.
The campaign has secured cross-party support, including 86 Conservative MPs that wrote an open letter to the Chancellor calling for the business rates threshold to be increased. The Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds MP has also written to the Chancellor to bring to his attention the #RaiseTheBar campaign.
Matthew Sims, CEO of Croydon BID and co-founder of #RaiseTheBar campaign said: “Access to the RHLG grant is a ticking time bomb for tens of thousands of businesses on our High Streets and in our local communities. There are just eight weeks until rent is due and the prospect of going under is an uncomfortable truth the government needs to hear and act upon now. The consequences of failing to increase the business rates threshold are too grim to bear.”
Night Czar for the Greater London Authority, Amy Lamé added: “London’s night time economy makes a huge contribution to life in our capital, but so many of these local businesses are under threat because of the impact of the coronavirus. They have rightly closed their doors to play their part in tackling this health crisis, but too many are not being supported by the government despite losing their entire income. It’s essential the Government raises the bar so that these treasured businesses can get the support they need so they are able to open their doors again when the time comes.”
NAM Implications:
- It was too late a long time ago…
- Coronavirus is simply delivering the Coup de Gras.
- The government need to agree on a total re-engineering of the High Street business model (think rent, business rates, parking domestic vs commercial mix, etc. etc.)
- …and even then ‘fingers crossed…’
