£1m fund to support firms affected by Aberdeen lockdown opens for applications

A £1million fund to support hospitality businesses directly impacted by Aberdeen's second lockdown has opened to applications.

Aberdeen City Council is administering the funding, provided by the Scottish Government, which will provide grants of £1,000 and £1,500 to those most affected.

A total of £900,000 of the fund will be allocated to these grants, with the remaining £100,000 being a discretionary fund for sectors not required to close by the regulations.

The fund will operate as a two-tiered scheme, with a smaller grant of £1,000 for businesses with a rateable value of under £51,000 and a larger grant of £1,500 for those businesses with a rateable value over £51,000.

Aberdeen City Council co-leader Councillor Jenny Laing said: "Local businesses particularly in the hospitality industry here in Aberdeen are facing challenges never before seen and I commend them for their continued resilience.

"While the individual grants are not for a huge amount of money every penny counts in these unprecedented times."

Co-leader Douglas Lumsden said: "We will continue to work with partner organisations to ensure that we can do all that we can to support the hospitality sector and the wider business community here in Aberdeen."

Full criteria and an application form can be found here.