Wholesalers to get business rates relief under £1 6bn fund thegrocer.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thegrocer.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It’s been a year like no other. And let’s hope, as the nation tentatively starts to move out of the nightmare that has been the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no more years like it to come.
Just 12 months ago, the biggest issue dominating the wholesale sector was whether businesses should move to a delivered or cash & carry model. That was before it become clear how big an impact this new virus would have on the sector, and life in general.
For wholesale, it has been a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly. On the good side, there have been huge sales increases in grocery. On the bad, a breakdown in communications with suppliers, leading to major availability issues. Then there’s the downright ugly impact of the hospitality shutdown on foodservice specialists – a situation that has only been made worse by a lack of sector-specific support from government. And that has turned upside down the fortunes of wholesalers.
Foodservice wholesaler Harvest Foods MD Richard Strongman told The Grocer: “It is an understatement to say we feel let down and hugely disappointed by the lack of any sector-specific support in this Budget. Truthfully, what we needed was 12 months rates relief, which has been extended to other sectors.
“With regards to the discretionary funding distributed by local authorities there is no indication about what the eligibility criteria will be at this stage. But so far the application of this scheme has been inconsistent across the country and the magnitude of the grants has not been sufficient to cover even a fraction of the fixed operating costs of wholesale businesses.”
Source: Unsplash
Boris Johnson and Defra secretary Victoria Prentis suggested help for wholesalers could come in the form of business rates relief
Foodservice wholesalers have received the strongest sign yet that their year-long campaign for sector-specific Covid support may finally be answered.
PM Boris Johnson yesterday told parliament wholesalers had “fallen through the cracks” in the government’s plans, and later Defra secretary Victoria Prentis told MPs on the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Efra) committee ministers were “very aware” the sector had not benefited from the same support as other areas, such as pubs, restaurants and retailers.
Both Johnson and Prentis appeared to suggest help for wholesalers, most likely in the form of business rates relief, could be confirmed in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget next Wednesday.