Scottish Wedding Industry Fund 

The Scottish Government has announced a new £25m support fund for businesses in the wedding sector that have been affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Which businesses will this help?

This fund is for businesses whose main income comes from the wedding and civil partnerships industry. It is available to companies, sole traders, partnerships, registered charities and trusts.

It is not intended to support groups of companies. If your company is  part of a group, with consolidated accounts, only one application per group can be made

It is targeted at businesses who provide one or more of the following services to the wedding industry:

• Cakes
• Caterers
• Celebrants
• Event supplies (such as catering hire or decorative items)
• Entertainment (for example, a band, DJ, piper, string quartet). If your band is formed of individual sole traders, each eligible sole trader can submit an application. If the band is a single entity like a partnership or registered company, you should submit one application per band.
• Florists & event stylists
• Jewellery designers/makers/sellers
• Marquee hire (including tepee hire)
• Non-mobile hairdressers & make-up artists (a separate grant will be available soon for mobile services)
• Photographers
• Specialist niche suppliers (for example, a photo booth, event nanny or other niche service)
• Transport (excluding taxi drivers, who should be contacted directly about a separate grant by their local councils – please refer to our blog of 24 January 2021)
• Venues (where at least 50% of your income comes from hosting ceremonies or reception events. Venues who provide accommodation only are not eligible)
• Videographers
• Wedding attire
• Wedding exhibitions/events
• Wedding listing sites
• Wedding planners
• Wedding publications
• Wedding stationery

Which businesses are eligible?

As well as providing at least one of the above services, to be eligible for this fund, your business must:

• be operating in Scotland with a Scottish trading address
• have started trading on or before 31 December 2019
• have been generating an annual turnover of at least £10,000 before March 2020 (or on a pro rata basis if you had not been trading for a full year by March 2020)
• be a micro, small or medium enterprise as defined by the European Commission definitions
• be your main income source of income (if you are a sole trader). People with full time employment who occasionally provide products or services to the wedding industry will not be eligible
• have been generating at least 50% of its income from wedding bookings before the COVID-19 pandemic
• have lost at least 50% of its overall turnover due to the pandemic
• intend on continuing to trade in the wedding industry after the COVID-19 pandemic
• not have received a one-off £25,000 payment from the Hospitality Sector Top-Up Payment (this is the amount given to businesses with a Non-Domestic Rates rateable value of £51,000 or over). If you have received this automated payment, you will have been notified within the last few weeks

What grants are available?

The fund offers a fixed grant amount based on turnover. The funding tiers are:

• a £5,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover between £10,000 and £49,999
• a £10,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover between £50,000 and £99,999
• a £15,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover between £100,000 – £249,999
• a £25,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover of more than £250,000

What is the application process?

You will be able to apply online from 28 January 2021:-

https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/service/funding/scottish-wedding-industry-fund

A high volume of applications is expected and these will be assessed in date order of receipt until the full fund has been distributed.  Unfortunately, this means that not all eligible applications will receive funding.

If you are eligible, we would recommend that you apply as soon as the fund opens on 28 January 2021.  You should prepare in advance and make sure that you have all the information required as part of the application process available.

Information required for application process

You must be a director, owner, chair, president, CEO, partner or trustee to apply for this fund. You will not apparently be able to save your application as you go and should make sure you have the following information to hand:

• For registered companies a Companies House number. You will find this on the Companies House website
• For registered charities, a Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) number. You will find this on the OSCR website
• For sole traders, a VAT number if you have one, or a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number. A VAT number contains 9 digits and usually starts with ‘GB’. You will find it on VAT documents from HMRC. A UTR number may also be referred to as a ‘tax reference’ number. It is a 10 digit number that should be on previous tax returns or other tax documents from HMRC
• For partnerships, the UTR numbers of up to 4 partners
• Your bank details for this business. If you are a sole trader, you may provide a personal account, as long as you can show it has been used for business purposes. If you are any other type of business, you must provide a business bank account.
• Your turnover for your last full trading year before March 2020. This will depend on your business’s financial year – for example, if your year ends in October, provide your turnover from October 2018 to October 2019. If you have not been trading for a full year, use the turnover you generated up to March 2020 which will then be considered on a pro rata basis

You will also need to provide the following evidence:

• For trusts, a copy of your Deed of Trust.
• Evidence of UTR numbers (if you need to provide one), such as a HMRC document
• A bank statement from the last 3 months
• A bank statement showing you were trading before 31 December 2019
• Evidence of your pre-COVID-19 turnover. This should be your last full year of audited or unaudited accounts or a tax return. If you have not been trading a full year and do not have these documents, provide whatever documentation you can.
• Any information you give about your business (such as your registered name and address) MUST match the information held by official bodies such as HMRC, Companies House or OSCR.

This information will be used to verify your business, so make sure this information is up to date before you apply.

Note that by submitting your application, you will be accepting the terms and conditions of the fund and agreeing to enter into a contract with the relevant agency if your application is successful.

After 31 March 2020, some applications may be chosen at random to be audited. Any applicants who have been found to have provided incorrect information will be expected to return their awarded grant.

https://www.gov.scot/news/supporting-the-wedding-sector/

The information in this blog provides only an overview of Scottish Government guidance and legislation in force at the date of publication and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed Scottish Government guidance and legislation or seeking professional advice.  Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this blog can be accepted by the firm.

Photo by Thomas AE on Unsplash