New financial support measures announced

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has delivered his third major statement to the House of Commons in less than a month. This followed the Winter Economy Plan on 24 September and further announcements on 9 October that expanded the scope of the Job Support Scheme and introduced new grants for businesses forced to close because of local or national lockdown measures.

In his third statement delivered on 22 October, the Chancellor has significantly revised previously announced measures to help protect jobs across the UK whilst the country faces a fresh spike of the virus and a winter of uncertainty.

These measures are intended to offer increased support through the existing Job Support and self-employed schemes and to expand the availability of business grants to support companies in Tier 2 areas of England.

1. Job Support Scheme

Under the original terms of the Job Support Scheme, due to start on 1 November 2020, employees would have had to work at least one-third of their hours, paid as normal, in order to qualify. The government and employer would then each have covered one-third of any remaining hours the employee is not working.

Under the revised scheme announced today, the employer contribution to those unworked hours has been reduced to just 5% (from 33%), and the minimum hours requirements for staff has been reduced to 20% (from 33%). The Government will now fund up to 61.67% of wages for hours not worked, up to a maximum payment to £1,541.75 per employee.

These changes mean an employee will need to work just one day a week to be eligible for the scheme. The use of the scheme will be available to businesses in all alert levels.

The previously announced Job Retention Bonus, allowing qualifying businesses to claim a £1,000 for each CJRS participating employee, will remain. Employers can claim both the Job Retention Bonus and funding through the Job Support Scheme.

The Job Support Scheme will replace the existing Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which ends on 31 October.

2. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension

The Chancellor also announced that the grants for the self-employed are to be doubled to 40% (from 20%) of previous qualifying earnings.

The initial lump sum will cover three months of profits from 1 November 2020 calculated as 40% of average monthly profits, up to a maximum total of £3,750. 

The extended scheme will apply for 6 months from 1 November 2020 with an initial taxable grant made available to those who continue to trade and meet the eligibility requirements.

An additional second grant will be available from 1 February 2021 to 30 April 2021. The level of this second grant amount is subject to review and will be set in due course.

3. Business grants

The Chancellor also announced an extension to the business grant measures previously announced for businesses in England that are forced to shut as a result of lockdown measures.

This extension to the scheme could benefit some 150,000 businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sector who are not legally closed but who are severely impacted by Tier 2 restrictions in England. These grants can be backdated to August in affected areas.

These businesses will be eligible for cash grants of up to £2,100 per month. The grant figures are based on 70% of the grant amounts (up to £3,000) provided to businesses that are closed.  

The amount affected businesses will be able to claim from their local authority depends on their rateable value:

  • Small businesses with a rateable value of or below £15,000 will be able to claim £934 per month.
  • Medium-sized businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 will be able to claim £1,400 per month.
  • Larger businesses will be able to claim £2,100 per month.

It will be up to Local Authorities to decide exactly which businesses are eligible to receive the grants. Local Authorities will also receive a 5% top up to help other affected businesses.

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Case Studies

The Tax Man

Minimise the stress of an investigation and make use of our extensive experience in securing best outcome for our clients

Business Valuation in Distress

Take advantage of our impartial and rigorous due diligence procedures

FD in The Cupboard

Our innovative ideas are here to improve your business performance and secure appropriate and cost effective funding

The Tax Man

The Tax Man

A new client was introduced to us via a recommendation with whom we arranged to meet on a regular basis in order to determine a number of changes that we felt were needed to their business structure. The client was at the time operating as a husband and wife partnership. The business was flourishing and had a number of large contracts with big organisations.

At the start of the process they were still heavily immersed in their day to day operations so we can get a full flavour for their ambitions, aspirations and growth plans. We quickly recognised there were sufficient tax savings which can be achieved by changing the structure from a partnership to a corporate entity. We carried out a business valuation and disposed of the goodwill from the old to the new business. Unfortunately, as often is the case with efficient tax planning, HMRC got involved and disputed our valuation.

An HMRC investigation can be a very stressful time for any client, even for those best prepared. However, our client had minimal input in the HMRC communication as we dealt with this professionally behind the scene. As an added benefit, our client could rest on the security that all work was covered by insurance and therefore all costs and time in dealing with this enquiry were covered by the fee protection policy we had put in place.

The initial approach taken by HMRC was very aggressive and they tried to present an argument that there was no goodwill in the business. We challenged HMRC’s view that the goodwill was worthless. After lengthy correspondence and numerous telephone calls, HMRC agreed 100% with our original valuation, which preserved our original tax saving plan for the client. Tax savings on this case where in the region of £75K at the outset, with ongoing savings of £6,000 per annum. We are pleased to add another happy client to our portfolio.

Business Valuation in Distress

Business Valuation in Distress

Selling a business is never an easy process, but when disputes arise, the need for a reliable third party due diligence process is even greater.

Tearle & Carver have extensive understanding of the requirements for remaining objective when managing a potentially difficult company buyout. In one such case, we were approached by the courts to act as independent accountant for an acrimonious business sale in which one partner was exiting the business and selling shares to the other. Given the circumstances, both sides had totally polar views of what their business was worth.

After arranging an initial meeting with the company, we were thorough in ensuring we completed due diligence, validating the figures in the accounting records, carrying out adjustments where appropriate, and drafting a set of reliable management figures within the framework required by the court.

A draft version of the report detailing our findings and conclusions was submitted to both parties, giving them the opportunity to voice any queries or concerns and ensure all relevant factors had been taken into account.

Through this process, we were able to submit a final report to the courts that was both binding and acceptable to both parties, effectively resolving what could otherwise have been a time consuming and costly process for all sides.

FD in The Cupboard

FD in The Cupboard

For smaller companies, it is often not possible or cost effective to pay for a full-time Financial Director.
Many of our clients therefore make use of Tearle & Carver’s extensive expertise to provide the services of an FD as and when required.

In this case, we were approached by the management team of an organisation looking to acquire the existing business via an MBO (Management buy out). Their business plan had proved ineffective for securing funding, and what they needed was financial expertise from someone with a developed understanding of the company’s internal workings.

Tearle & Carver helped deliver the solution our clients were looking through utilising our bank contacts in order to make the MBO viable, while also building a robust business plan and preparing our client for the rigorous vetting process. To help with cash flow issues, we introduced factoring which led to improved cash flow management.

We advised on the appropriate business valuation and structure, and continued to prepare monthly accounts to track profgress once the management were fully in command of all the information they needed to move their business forward.

In order to best assist these clients through the crucial first year of ownership, we attended board meetings on a regular basis, a service that we continue to provide to date.

With our continually developing understanding of their business, this client is able to remain confident that Tearle & Carver can provide any financial support they may need, now and in the future.