Friday newspaper round-up: Covid-19 rescue schemes, rent arrears, business rates holiday
Business leaders have urged the government to expand its Covid-19 rescue schemes to prevent thousands of businesses from going bust, as figures showed lenders have approved fewer than half of the applications for state-backed loans made to date. The CBI said ministers needed to address shortcomings in the loans scheme for small and medium-sized businesses, under which 16,624 firms have borrowed £2.8bn to date, up from £1.1bn a week earlier. – Guardian
Commercial property landlords in the UK have been temporarily banned from taking legal action against tenants who have not paid their rent, to protect retailers and other businesses from “aggressive rent collection” during the coronavirus crisis. Landlords are prohibited by the government until 30 June from sending their tenants statutory demands, a formal request for payment or winding-up petitions - a legal notice usually sent by a creditor to request that the courts close a company that owes it money. – Guardian
The furlough scheme could merely delay redundancies instead of saving jobs for good, as economists fear the extent of the coronavirus recession will make it hard for businesses to reopen their doors. An extra million workers have been added to those furloughed under the job retention scheme, HM Revenue and Customs revealed, taking the total to 3.2m so far as 435,000 businesses signed up since Monday to avoid laying off staff. - Telegraph
Ailing shops, restaurants and pubs hit by the coronavirus lockdown are to be shielded from “aggressive” action by landlords to recover unpaid rent under new measures unveiled by ministers. Some tenants have been hit with statutory rent demands and winding-up orders after rent went unpaid at the end of March despite an earlier ban on evictions. – Telegraph
All companies should be given a three-month business rates holiday as part of almost £16 billion of potential new aid, according to the CBI. The business lobby group has called on the government to extend business rates relief beyond the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors to every company in England, Scotland and Wales, mirroring the temporary blanket suspension of payments in Northern Ireland. – The Times