Support for businesses

Support hub

Please find below categorised listed support available to you and your businesses during these challenging times. 

Updated August 2024

On 1 August the Bank of England cut interest rates to 5%, marking the first cut since the pandemic began in March 2020. This move was facilitated by the change in bringing inflation back down to the targeted 2%, however, with growth still below pre-pandemic levels financial analysts predict a 75% chance of further rate cuts in November, following the October budget statement this could mean slightly cheaper borrowing costs, potentially stimulating investment and growth.

The first budget under the new government will be on 30 October. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced it would be "a budget to fix the foundations of our economy" to balance the current budget and reduce debt, citing a £20 billion deficit in public finances. Businesses will continue to face challenging trade-offs, including future tax rises in areas like income tax, VAT, and National Insurance rates, with cuts already made to roadbuilding and railway projects, reviewed hospital reconstruction, and an ambitious budget target for government departments to save over 3 billion pounds. We will update this page once the formal budget statement is released in October.

The government's Energy Bill Discount Scheme ended on 31 March, leaving small businesses uncertain about higher bills with many citing 40% more spent on energy each month. To survive, businesses should explore other support options, like considering switching their energy suppliers as more fixed-rate tariffs are coming on the market, but do make sure you do your research to make sure you're getting a competitive rate, as well as to consider making your business more energy efficient.

Rents

According to RICS UK Commercial Property Monitor overall, confidence in the commercial property market remained flat in Q2 2024, however, London is significantly outperforming every other region in terms of growth and with inflation returning to 2% the reports suggest the market is moving towards the early stages of an upturn following a challenging couple of years.

To support businesses, the Property Advice Service from the London Business Partnership offers regular masterclasses delivered by industry experts and SMEs which need urgent one-to-one support can meet with expert commercial property advisors who can help them to find suitable commercial space, resolve lease issues and overcome renegotiation challenges. To access the support please complete the registration form. 

If you feel you don’t need a fixed commercial property for your business, you could think about hiring flexible office space for use only when you need it. Please see our page commercial space.

Running your commercial fleet efficiently or even better change to low-emission transport

Running a commercial fleet is a major cost for many businesses, as this affects every part of the supply chain and in most instances now suppliers are passing on these costs.

See below how petrol and diesel prices have fluctuated over recent times:

The RAC has created the Ultimate Guide to saving on fuel. Apart from the way you drive the vehicle itself, there are other ways of saving costs such as better route planning using available apps or mapping systems. Also:

• Checking for the lowest cost forecourt near you.
• Consider using company or individual credit cards where there is a linked cash back scheme in place.
• Think about changing your commercial vehicle to electric alternatives.
• If you’re a company car driver you may be able to claim tax relief, you can claim tax relief on the money you’ve spent on fuel and electricity for business trips in your company car. If your employer reimburses some of the money, you can claim relief on the difference. Check eligibility.
• Make sure you and other drivers in your organisation are aware of updates to the Highway Code to avoid unnecessary fines, for example, now some councils and TfL have powers to fine drivers up to £160 for veering into cycle lanes. The changes to protect cyclists came into force in January 2022. Click here to learn more.

Join the Zero Emissions Network

The Zero Emissions Network (ZEN) is an award-winning initiative that supports businesses and residents in Newham save money, reduce emissions, and improve local air quality. It offers free advice and services to switch to a range of low-emission transport options. ZEN has delivered 1000 emission-reducing initiatives to its members including electricians, florists, and hairdressers to name a few. By joining ZEN you can benefit from bespoke advice, free trials, cash-saving services, networking opportunities, loyalty discounts, and grants i.e. £2,500 towards cargo bikes until 1 September, for more details click here. 

Lowering your cost of recruitment

Recruitment is not cheap, as there are many factors to consider such as the costs of which job websites to use and weighing up the costs involved. We recommend in these very difficult times, where every penny counts, to use the Councils recruitment service, Our Newham Work.

We would recommend that businesses support residents by signing up to the London Living Wage. Although this not the ideal time to increase your wage bill, we encourage you to look at the benefits such as reduced absenteeism and staff turnover, improved wellbeing both in and outside of work – all of which help productivity.

In July 2022 the Royal Docks launched their action plan to become a living wage place by 2025. Anchor organisations like the University of East London, Tate & Lyle Sugars, London City Airport and London ExCeL are already accredited with the Living Wage Foundation and are actively championing the Royal Docks’ plan to increase uptake by 50% across all industries, enabling a pay rise for more than 3,000 workers. View our guide to Becoming a London Living Wage Employer.

Deep dive

Owing to the cost of living crisis, now really is the time to unpick what’s going on in your business so that you can make the necessary hard decisions.

First thing first: monitor your profit margins as this will help you to optimise the most lucrative areas of your business.

In order to do this, look at your gross profit margins. This will help you to review your pricing structure, item by item. Then compare that with your competitors and benchmark your prices accordingly.

Improve your response using our checklist (PDF)