Six firms repay £540k of Covid-19 business support
SIX firms have paid £540,000 of Covid-19 business support back to the States – including more than £250,000 from Creaseys.
Ferryspeed and Waste Oil Recycling also confirmed that they had repaid money – while other businesses decided to remain anonymous. Last week, Blue Diamond, owner of Le Friquet garden centre, revealed it had repaid £146,000 of support money.
Peter Creasey, managing director of Creasey’s, thanked islanders for their ongoing support and staff for their loyalty – saying it had made all the difference and enabled the retailer to repay the States support.
‘We were enormously grateful and relieved when the States of Guernsey stepped in to offer financial support for co-funding staff wages and deferred the payment of other States charges and taxes,’ said Mr Creasey.
‘This support provided us with the security required to stand down our staff and close our non-food shops – for the first time since 1944 owing to the war.’
While it was a difficult time, he said the measures put in place by the Civil Contingencies Authority under the guidance of Public Health director Dr Nicola Brink were fully supported by Creaseys.
‘Thankfully, when non-essential shops reopened at the end of May 2020 some normality returned. In the spirit of “Guernsey Together” the Guernsey population returned to the High Street and supported our business and many other local retailers.
‘This is an example of how shopping locally can help the wider community and we experienced a busy summer, autumn and Christmas trading period, even without the normal numbers of visitors.
‘Thanks to this support we were delighted to be able to repay the States of Guernsey over £250,000 of salary co-funding and pay all the other deferred charges.
'Without the support of the Guernsey public this would not have been possible.’
Mr Creasey said its shops were looking forward to welcoming visitors this summer and the continued support of locals.
Waste Oil Recycling repaid about £10,000.
‘During the lockdown, the trade was damaged but the business wasn’t,’ said managing director Peter Macgill.
‘We lost income and profit but it didn’t threaten the business.’
Ferryspeed Guernsey general manager Martyn Langlois said: ‘It really is just expressing the fact that we have continued to work and serving the island as best we can. In fact at the end of the day, business was sufficient not to have to claim from the States and to return it.’
Deputy Mark Helyar, Treasury lead on the Policy & Resources committee, thanked those businesses that had made repayments given it had been a tough time for many sectors.
‘Some are still needing support now, so certainly we appreciate not all businesses could realistically consider repaying the support they’ve received,’ he said.
‘But it’s really encouraging to see there are some who can. It shows how well some sectors have bounced back and a real community spirit from those business leaders.’
