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Anticipation, optimism, uncertainty and frustration...it seems last week's announcement of a new fixed-cost support scheme for local businesses has provoked emotions of all kinds.
As the island’s businesses tentatively await full details of the package, Express spoke to the owners of business owners across different sectors about their initial reaction to what's on offer...
Amaizin’ Adventure Park owner Kristina Le Feuvre said she is hoping for a “simple” package that is easier to sign up to than the Visitor Attractions and Events Scheme, which caused some contention in the Events sector – but said she was awaiting the full detailed plan before forming a judgment on whether the support is adequate.
Pictured: Amaizin' owner, Kristina Le Feuvre, said she hoped the fixed-costs scheme was "a simpler scheme," and was "looking forward to seeing the detail."
“The devil’s in the smallprint,” she summed up, stating that she hoped the eventual release of details would change the playing field for Amaizin', which she said has “made no money since last February."
"We’ve used our reserves, and the coming year is a great worry," she admitted.
Kristina added that the adventure park had still retained "all our full time staff, and they’ve been our full priority” across the past year.
On this topic, she did praise the raising of the maximum monthly wage subsidy to 90% of £2,500 - a positive step in keeping the Park’s staff secure.
Other local businesses are taking a similar view, looking to the future cautiously but with some optimism the new package will be an improvement.
Victoria Querée, owner of NEON Salon and School, was one of five women who set up Support Jersey Family Businesses, a campaign group committed to lobbying for more support for small local businesses.
She said Thursday's announcement on business support was “certainly a step in the right direction”, with many of the measures touted being “the exact kind of support we need.”
Like Kristina, though, she felt like it was difficult to make a full judgment without seeing the terms and conditions.
“The general consensus is that what has been announced sounds good, but we need to wait and see the details," she said.
Similarly optimistic, Jane James of Jane James Ceramics said that “any support is gratefully received at the moment”, and that she was maintaining a “positive” perspective on events.
Pictured: Jane James said she was "grateful" for any support at all, and focused more on encouraging people to help her and other local businesses by shopping once they re-open.
She added she was “really hopeful [the support] is going to get us through this month”, but that her business's success would be more dependent on sales when town re-opens than anything else.
Directly addressing the public, she said: “If people want local shops to go to, if they want a high street, then they’ve got to support us – if you want to have a high street, if you’ve missed it, come out and support it.”
For El Tico owner Andrew Hosegood, however, the latest announcements were “hollow.”
He told Express that he was receiving calls from businesses who were still "desperate" with worry after Thursday's announcement.
“Hospitality has been told to close to protect he vulnerable,” he stressed, “We get that, but, in doing so, they have created a whole new area of vulnerabilities in people’s mental wellbeing and financial security – who’s going to deal with those vulnerabilities?”
Pictured: El Tico owner, Andrew Hosegood, feared for smaller hospitality businesses, saying they had been calling him in a desperate position.
Overall, he said he was left with the impression that the Government's Economic team had “tinkered around the edges to create some positive soundbites, but the substance is hollow.”
This frustration is shared by the events and nightclub sector.
Rojo's owner J-P Anquetil said that Thursday’s announcement had left many in their industry confused as to what this meant for them.
Pictured: Rojo's owner J-P Anquetil questioned why the scheme's support began in January rather than earlier, considering many businesses were damaged due to either no trade at all, or a lack of winter trade.
One question he was left with after digesting all of the immediately available information was one the events sector have pushed for answers to since they published their open letter to Government last week – namely, why the Government have chosen January 2021 as the start date for support, rather than March of last year, when the sector was first forced to close.
“I think the one thing that’s been missed from the whole events and nightclubs [perspective] is there’s no help for everything’s that occurred previous to January,” he explained.
“We’ve had nine months of not being able to trade - most people in the events and nightclub [sector] had detriment between 70% and 100%. Everyone’s a bit confused as to why they’ve chosen January too - where are they picking these start dates from?”
Government beefs up business support with new fixed costs scheme
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