What is the Scottish Wedding Industry Fund?
The Scottish Wedding Industry Fund aimed to help as many businesses as possible operating in the Scottish wedding industry – and their supply chain – to survive the current COVID-19 pandemic and then restart once restrictions ease, thus protecting jobs. The Scottish Wedding Industry Fund (SWIF) disbursed £25,900,000 of emergency grant aid to 2,811 legal business entities, affected by the loss of Wedding event business due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Fund aims to provide support to businesses whose main income comes from the wedding and civil partnerships industry, which has been significantly impacted as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Fund was open from 28 January to 25 February 2021 to eligible businesses whose main income comes from the wedding sector, offering grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 depending on turnover. It was managed by a partnership of South of Scotland Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise on behalf of the Scottish Government.
The £25 million fund offers firms a fixed grant amount based on turnover. The funding tiers are:
- A £5,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover between £10,000 and £49,999.
- A £10,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover between £50,000 and £99,999.
- A £15,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover between £100,000 – £249,999.
- A £25,000 grant for businesses with a pre-COVID-19 turnover of more than £250,000.
This fund is aimed at supporting businesses that provide services to the wedding industry in Scotland, eg caterers, celebrants, event suppliers, photographers, florists and attire merchants, to name a few.
Who is this for?
If your business has its main income from the wedding and civil partnerships industry you could qualify. It is available to registered companies, as well as sole traders, partnerships, registered charities and trusts.
