Scottish Wedding Industry Fund
The Scottish Government has provided a lifeline the wedding industry with the launch of the Scottish Wedding Industry Fund last week. This was announced in December and applications for funding opened on Thursday last week. It is being administered by Scottish Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. This followed lobbying by the Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance which was created to represent the voice of business in the Scottish Wedding Industry to help us respond to the effects of the global pandemic.
There were some technical issues when the applications opened, which I'm sure were due to the volume to applications being submitted at the same time. These seemed mainly to do with uploading documents, but that seems to be resolved now.
There is no fixed date for the fund to close, but it will when all of the funding has been allocated.
There are four tiers, based on turnover which 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
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 hadn’t been trading a full year by March 2020)
Be a micro, small or medium enterprise as defined by the European Commission definitions.
Be your main income (if you’re 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
This fund is for businesses whose main income comes from the wedding and civil partnerships industry. It’s available to registered companies, as well as sole traders, partnerships, registered charities and trusts.
It’s aimed at supporting 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)
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
I personally applied for this grant on Friday, and although is was quite stressful with the issues of uploading documents, the support I received from Scottish Enterprise was brilliant, they were very supportive in making sure that I had all of the correct information.
If you are eligible you can apply online at www.findbusinesssupport.gov.scot.