Further funding support available for Scottish Food & Drink businesses

The Scottish Government has released details on two funding opportunities available for food & drink businesses that were affected by the control measures put in place in December 2021. The applications are now open for the £2 million Scottish Food & Drink Producers Fund and a further round of the Scottish Wholesale Food & Drink Resilience Fund.

The Scottish Food & Drink Producers Fund

The Scottish Food & Drink Producers Fund offers support to primary and secondary food and drink producers supplying the hospitality sector who have encountered hardship due to the enhanced restrictions that were introduced by the Scottish Government in December 2021.

Applicants must fit all of the following criteria:

• Business is classed as a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) as previously defined in the EU recommendation 2003/361. Namely, employ fewer than 250 persons and have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million
• Are based in Scotland
• Main business function is primarily a food and drink producer
• Supplies on a business to business basis to the hospitality sector, either directly or indirectly via the hospitality supply chain
• Encountered a cancellation, or curtailment, of a confirmed order during 8 December 2021 to 24 January 2022,
  and the business incurred expenses associated with the processing of the order prior to its cancellation
• Value of total financial loss above minimum threshold of £1,000
• Business does not qualify for the Scottish Governments separate wholesalers or brewers support fund

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on 13 February 2022 and applicants are advised to read the guidance notes before summiting their application. You can read more about the application process, including the guidance notes, here.

Scottish Wholesale Food & Drink Resilience Fund

The Scottish Government announced £5m of additional funding for the Scottish Wholesale Food & Drink Resilience Fund last December, bringing the total to £15m. The fund has now been split into two parts, offering financial support to food and drink wholesalers who have encountered hardship as a result of either, or both, of the following:

Part a
Public health restrictions imposed on hospitality and on-trade during the period from the start of January 2021 to the end of August 2021.

Part b
Emergence of the omicron variant and related public health restrictions on hospitality and the on-trade that were introduced in December 2021 and continued in January 2022.

Eligible food and drink wholesalers can apply for part A and/or B. The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on 13 February 2022 and applicants are advised to read the guidance notes before summiting their application. Full details on the eligibility criteria, guidance notes and the application process can be found here.

As members of Scotland Food & Drink, a key sector leader promoting the interests of Scotland, we are committed to supporting Scotland’s food and drink industry and regularly provide advisory services on top of our general compliance services where possible to our food & drink clients.

For more information or if you need support submitting an application with the correct financial evidence, please contact our EQ Food & Drink specialists via foodanddrink@eqaccountants.co.uk or call one of our offices.