Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund

On 30 April the Scottish Government introduced the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund which will provide an additional £45 million for vulnerable SME firms who are vital to the local/national economic foundations of Scotland. A further £30 million is being injected into the Fund to help SMEs, taking the total available to £120 million. This fund will be managed by the Enterprise Agencies.

 

Who is this for?

This is for businesses that will make an impact on the Scottish economy. Businesses must be involved in or meet the following conditions:

  • Can drive economic prosperity through wages, employment, exports, supply chain etc.
  • Be a supplier or potential supplier to NHS or other COVID-19 vital services.
  • A supplier to other essential businesses.
  • Can scale up or diversify due to COVID-19 opportunities.
  • Have a plan to continue to trade in the coming months, taking account of any hibernation or reduced operations as a result of COVID-19.
  • Can use the grant for working capital to help meet a cash flow gap or can be used to augment other funding from Government and other sources.
  • Can use the grant to contribute to cashflow items e.g. rent, wages, Directors salaries, heat, light and power, materials, transport, financing costs VAT/HMRC, creditor payment.

 

Eligibility

  • In order to apply you must meet the following criteria:

  • Your company has up to 249 employees that have been trading successfully before COVID-19become self-employed on or after 6 April 2019.
  • Less than £50 million turnover or balance sheet total of £43 million.
  • Can demonstrate the funding support will support business to be viable.
  • You were not in financial difficulty before 31 December 2019.
  • You are a Fair Work employer or working towards becoming a Fair Worker employer.
  • You must have a business bank account.

 

What do I have do?

Before you apply, you must meet the eligibility criteria and have certain information to hand. You will need to:

  • Provide a bank statement from your business bank account that is less than three months old.
  • Provide a Companies House registration number if you are registered business.
  • Provide a VAT registration number if you are registered for VAT.

In addition, you must provide the following information to complete a 12-month cash flow table:

  • Any invoicing discount drawdown.
  • Net debtors’ receipt.
  • VAT funding from Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
  • Funding from Coronavirus Interruption Loan Scheme.
  • Any other COVID-19 grants or other grants.
  • Any other income.
  • Cost of wages and salaries.
  • PAYE/NI costs.
  • Employees expenses.
  • HP payments.
  • Corporate credit card payments due.
  • Non-stock supplier direct debits.
  • Supplier direct debits.
  • Bank term loan repayments.
  • Bank charges and interest.
  • Supplier payments.
  • Any other monthly payments.
  • Overdraft limit.

 

How long does it take?

Up to ten working days from application and appraisal to finds being released for approved applications.
Your circumstances and how these relate to your local area, region or industry will be considered. Your impact in terms of employment or effect on other local or regional businesses will be looked at.

If I meet the eligibility criteria and have provided the appropriate information and documentation what happens next?

The process is:

  • Successful applicants will be notified
  • They must formally accept the offer within three days
  • Money will be paid 100% upfront

Will this cost me?

No, there is no cost to apply.

More information

More detailed guidance can be found here.