Feb 3 2021 Further funding announced to support the Scottish seafood sector Categories: COVID-19Food & Drink To further support fishermen, seafood businesses and ports and harbours that continue to be impacted by the ongoing effects of COVID-19 and the issues surrounding the EU exit, the Scottish Government have announced a new £7.75m funding package. The funding package aims to support the Scottish seafood industry who face ongoing losses due to COVID-19 hospitality more
Jan 29 2021 Can you utilise the temporary closure of your business? Categories: COVID-19Leisure As we work through another national lockdown, the leisure industry finds itself once again dealing with the temporary closure of restaurants, bars and hotels. Although there may have been lessons learnt from previous closures, such as how to identify funding and grants available and implementing procedures in regard to reopening, there is continued pressure on more
Jan 22 2021 £7 million Large Self-Catering Grant and the Exclusive Use Grant Categories: COVID-19Leisure Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, has announced details of the support available for larger self-catering properties and B&Bs paying Council Tax. As part of the £104.3 million support package for tourism and hospitality businesses announced in December 2020, the £7 million Large Self-Catering Grant and the Exclusive Use Grant will provide financial more
Jan 19 2021 COVID-19 Insurance – are you covered? Categories: COVID-19Leisure The long-awaited judgement by the Supreme Court on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) business interruption test case was delivered on Friday 15 January 2021, allowing the appeal on behalf of policy holders. This completes the legal process for impacted policies and means that thousands of policyholders will now have their claims for coronavirus-related business interruption losses more
Jan 12 2021 Increased funding support for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses Categories: COVID-19Leisure The Scottish Government have announced January top-up grants for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses across Scotland that have had to close due to level 4 restrictions. These one-off grants will be in addition to the grants businesses receive through the Strategic Framework Business Fund (SFBF), which has been open since November. In most cases, if more
Dec 22 2020 £104.3 million support package for tourism and hospitality businesses Categories: COVID-19Leisure A part of the £185 million package previously announced by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, tourism and hospitality businesses across Scotland are to benefit from a £104.3 million package of support in the New Year. With mainland Scotland moving to level 4 and the Scottish islands moving to level 3 from Boxing Day, businesses that are required more
Dec 16 2020 A guide to reduced VAT for holiday accommodation providers Categories: Leisure When the temporary VAT reduction was put in place in July, it was welcomed by the tourism industry. However, it was introduced very quickly and left many accommodation providers confused on how to charge VAT on their bookings. VAT legislation can be tricky, and although the rate used is usually based on when the good more
Dec 2 2020 Corporate Finance activity in holiday park sector Categories: Corporate FinanceLeisure At EQ, we act as specialist holiday park advisers to the sector and are members of the British Homes and Holiday Park Association (BH&HPA). Despite the ongoing pandemic, we’ve seen a variety of activity within the sector over the last 6 months, particularly in relation to financing development or acquisitions. We’ve summarised the main themes more