Shutting up shop?
THIRTY-FIVE businesses in the city centre have united to warn shops may be forced to close if additional government support is not provided during Covid-19.
The Glasgow City Centre Small Business Alliance has said jobs and livelihoods will be lost due to long hardship brought on by the global pandemic. The group is calling on the local authority and Scottish Government to give urgent cash support to prevent the area from falling into “further collapse and decay”.
Amjid Bashir, who owns Newsbox on Queen Street, said he has been excluded from all financial grants due to the fact his business has been deemed as “essential”. He said: “As a city centre newsagents, we’re relying on nightclubs and office workers for our revenue. Because we can’t afford to pay our full rent at the moment, our landlord is threatening to take us to court.
“On top of this, I’ve had to furlough my staff so it’s just my wife and I work long hours, round-the-lock to keep the shop open. I have applied for so many grants but we’ve been told that because we are deemed as an essential business, we aren’t eligible to receive them.”
Despite being allowed to stay open, Mr Bashir has had to close his business three times within the space of 10 months due to a loss of footfall to the area.
Mr Bashir said: “There’s no reason for people to be in the city centre right now. Our sales have now dropped from 20% after the first lockdown to between four or five per cent now. Daily, we were seeing an income of about £60 in sales.
“It was more economical for me to close because the electricity bill was more than what we were making in a day. We’re not getting funding from anyone and the city centre is like a ghost town. How are we meant to survive this?”
Mr Bashir added: “I have seriously been thinking about closing my business down and applying to do IT work. I have been self-employed for 22 years, it is heartbreaking. I’ve got five children, too.”
The businesses, including Project Pizza , Abbey Chemist, Foodfillas, 1 Smile Dental Clinic, Subway and Merchant City Post Office, are calling on the Scottish Government to include businesses classed as essential to all Covid-19 framework grants.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We understand all businesses face significant difficulties during the pandemic and we are committed to providing continued assistance, within our limited resources.
“The Strategic Framework Business Fund provides monthly grants of up to £3000 for businesses required by law to close and up to £2100 for those that can remain open but are required by law to modify their operations.
“Our £30 million local authority discretionary fund is also empowering local authorities to direct funding to specific groups or sectors within their areas. Employment support to cover staff costs is provided via the UK Government’s furlough scheme.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesman added: “We are very much aware of the challenges that face city centre businesses as a result of the pandemic – challenges that none of us have ever faced on such a scale, and we will do all in our power to support these businesses.
“Since April last year, the council has awarded payments of over £170m to businesses in the city on behalf of the Scottish Government through eight different business grant schemes.
“Through partnerships such as the City Centre Taskforce and the Glasgow Economic Recovery Group, we are working with all sectors of the economy in the city centre – and the rest of the city – to ensure that the impact of lockdown is minimised as much as possible before we move into the economic recovery stage.”