Coronavirus: Applications open for £50,000 business grant

Applications have opened for a new £50,000 grant aimed at helping larger businesses affected by the pandemic.

The scheme was set up by the Department of Finance.

It is expected to help over 1,100 businesses across a range of sectors including retail, childcare and manufacturing.

To be eligible, a business must occupy a large commercial premises with a net annual value of over £51,000 and have qualified for 12 months rates holiday.

It has been funded by some of the money that had not yet been spent by Stormont, which was at risk of being handed back to the Treasury.

"This new grant scheme will make available more than £50m of financial assistance to hundreds of businesses across a wide range of sectors including childcare, retail, manufacturing, hospitality, tourism and leisure," Finance Minister Conor Murphy said.

"I hope this one-off grant will help these businesses which didn't qualify for previous grant schemes."

• Stormont seeks to recover millions in Covid grants

• What support is there for my NI business?

One business that will be able to apply is Collins Furniture shop in west Belfast - a family business that has been operating for 70 years.

It is getting ready to reopen in less than two weeks time, but is still struggling with costs from this time last year.

Furniture store owner Michael Collins with Finance Minister Conor Murphy

"We hope this will address the shortfall as our rateable value was too big to qualify for either of the lump sum grants in the first lockdown," said owner Michael Collins.

"This is basically giving us grant aid that we missed out on during the first lockdown - we are still struggling with overhead costs that were incurred during the first lockdown when we had no income whatsoever."

Applications will close on 5 May, with payments expected in June.

Airports, food retailers, petrol stations and sports clubs are not eligible, nor any businesses that received or is entitled to receive money from the Department for the Economy's Large Tourism and Hospitality Business Support Scheme.