£850 million worth of COVID-19 support grants are still available nationally and firms in England have been encouraged to apply by Business Minister, Paul Scully. The funding has been made available by government to councils in England for them to provide to businesses in need in their local area. Businesses are encouraged to apply to their local council for the funding. The funding is made up of £556 million available through the £635 million Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant (OHLG) scheme, which launched in January 2022, and a further £294 million through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme which has been paying out funding since November 2020. The OHLG scheme provides businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors with one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premise, supporting those that had been most impacted by the Omicron variant. To provide further support to other businesses, the ARG scheme provides councils with funding they can allocate at their discretion to businesses most in need, such as personal care businesses and supply firms. The government encourages councils to provide the funding to businesses as quickly as possible. Small Business Minister Paul Scully said: “We’re working to get our economy running on all cylinders again so we can focus on making the UK the best place in the world to work and do business, creating jobs along the way. “Eligible businesses should apply as soon as possible for the grants available to help them put the pandemic behind them and get on a sounder footing to achieve success.” The government has provided support for businesses throughout the pandemic, including VAT cuts, business rates holidays and government-backed loans all collectively worth around £400 billion. The £22 billion of grant support to businesses during the pandemic is made up of several support schemes including for small businesses and local restrictions support.

Leeds manufacturer, Pland Stainless, has reported a positive 10% growth in sales during 2021, despite the market challenges faced with the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit uncertainty. The business, which has been manufacturing stainless steel products, mainly for the commercial market since 1919, has seen the largest growth on bespoke made-to-measure products from all sectors including healthcare, catering, secure accommodation, and education. Pland had a busy year all round with lots of investment secured in the business too. They purchased and have been trialling two robots for welding and polishing, designed to be used for repetitive tasks, particularly where vibration causes health and safety concerns for their skilled polishers.  They have had a new guillotine machine installed, a new heavy lifting machine for stainless steel sheets, additional space heaters for the building and new racking for storage. The building, which has been occupied by Pland for over 100 years, also required some maintenance and during 2021 they re-covered parts of the roof and disposed of a 60-year-old press no longer in use.  The press, which weighed in at 80 tonnes, had to be cut in half to be removed at a cost of over £16,000.  All this as well as investing in more finished stock to secure supply and maintain lead times for customers. “2021 was a busy year for everyone at Pland, but a successful one and it’s all credit to the team that we achieved so much in very challenging and uncertain times.”  Said Steve Duree, MD of Pland Stainless, who has over 40 years of service with the business. “We have to plan our steel supply a year in advance and submit our intended usage to our supplier. Forecasting is never an exact science, but it was particularly difficult in the current climate. Our stockholding has increased by around 25% to ensure continuity of supply and all at a time when overall steel prices were running around 18-25% higher than the prior year.” Pland Stainless managed to finish the year without any price increases being passed to their customers, albeit in January 2022 they have had to succumb to a 6% product increase. In a business where there is so much fluctuation in raw material prices and a need to constantly invest in the latest, expensive machinery and technology, the experience of the team has a massive contribution to its success.  Pland’s employee retention record is certainly above average with a number of employees achieving over 30 years of service with the business. It employs traditionally skilled craftsmen and continually recruits apprentices to learn and continue the trades.  It’s this experience and knowledge, coming from years in the market, that has helped Pland make the right choices over the past two years, helping it to grow in unprecedented times.

Experts in office design, fit out and refurbishment, APSS is celebrating 25 years of supporting businesses across the country to create inspirational and impressive workspaces. Founded in 1997, Darren Crookes started out on his own with two fitters to install office partitions and storage solutions for local businesses in the Lincoln area. Laurence Barrass, Managing Director for APSS said: “We now employ over 35 people and still work in partnership with our very first customer, Siemens. It’s incredible to think we have now completed over 10,000 different projects for our customers which span from Cornwall to Aberdeen. “Since the start, we have always helped smaller businesses as they remember the quality of service they receive from us, they grow as a company, then they turn into some of our biggest customers over the years. The partnership and bond we have with them is fantastic. It’s where we want to be – recognised as the company you can trust.” APSS has naturally evolved from a partitions and storage solution company to provide a full design and fit out service across a range of sectors. It has adapted to include its own in-house joinery department to speed up delivery time on projects and decrease overall costs for customers. Recently, the company has seen a change at the helm as Laurence Barrass became the new Managing Director, taking over from Darren who took a step back from the day to day running of the company, but remains as Chairman. “To reach 25 years in business is a huge milestone for any company,” Laurence said. “We have survived recessions and a pandemic which no one could have prepared for. There was a worrying time when offices nationally were closed to workers and this being key to our business. But thanks to the knowledgeable skill of our staff and the flexibility it allows for, as a company we were able to adapt to better support our customers who were going through exactly the same challenges we were facing. “We helped businesses which sold online to adapt their warehouse to cope with the additional stock levels required. Many of our key customers, like Wren Kitchens, used the down time in the offices to create a better and safer working environment ready for the post pandemic return to the office. “It’s been a bumpy ride, but an exciting one. We know many companies have had to shift to a more flexible, hybrid way of working thanks to the pandemic. It has been great to support so many in transforming their current office space to better suit that style of working.” When the company was first founded, it was all about trying to get the message out. The location in the Yellow Pages was an important consideration. Everything was faxed and drawings were all done by hand. To build up the business founder Darren Crookes knocked on every door he could find to obtain local clients. Many of which we are still working with. However, after a while, customers started saying ‘you know you’re doing that, well can you get carpets, and can you get furniture?’ It was a natural progression from the partitions, racking and storage the company originally provided – and still does. It opened up the marketplace and APSS began to offer more of a service driven product. “During the recession, APSS helped businesses to utilise their existing workspaces, similar to now after the pandemic. The only difference back then was it was about how we could squeeze as much in to the space as possible. Now it’s more about how to create a flexible working environment with space for people to move around the office without being crowded,” Explained Laurence. APSS works with a wide range of companies across the UK including Wren Kitchens, Slimming World, Octopus Energy, Siemens, University of Lincoln and Bakkavor to name just a few. “Over the years we have installed all sorts of different and quirky things from hidden bathrooms to Google inspired slides. As fun and different as these things are, our primary focus has always been ensuring our customers have a productive, efficient workspace that leaves a great impression.”