HUNDREDS of eligible businesses in Waverley and East Hampshire are missing out on thousands of pounds in government coronavirus grants.

Around 550 small firms in Waverley, and 600 in East Hampshire, are yet to claim grants worth up to £25,000 each.

Both Waverley Borough Council and East Hampshire District Council are appealing to companies believed to be eligible for either a Business Support Grant or a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant to get in touch to claim their support.

Tom Horwood, the current chief executive at Waverley and former East Hants boss, said: "As of today [Wednesday], we have awarded nearly £15m in grants to small businesses under the scheme announced by the Government.

"Last week, we gave a big communications push to appeal to the remaining circa 800 small businesses to come forward and make the application.

"We now reckon there are about 550 businesses that could still claim."

Mr Horwood shared an email from one happy grant recipient, who said: "We very much appreciate the fact that the grant was easy to apply for and that it arrived so quickly. Thank you to your team for all their hard work in making that happen.”

Businesses that currently receive Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief qualify for a grant of £10,000.

Businesses in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors qualify for a grant of £10,000 if their rateable value is below £15,000 or a grant of £25,000 if their rateable value is between £15,001 and £51,000.

These are grants from the government, not loans and do not need to be paid back.

Around 1,300 businesses have so far come forward to claims the grants in Waverley, with the borough council to date making payments totalling around £10 million.

Neighbouring East Hampshire has paid out more than £17.7m to 1,400 businesses so far.

To find out more, visit the respective council websites www.waverley.gov.uk/coronavirus or www.easthants.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support