RBS unveils multi-million-pound fund to help riot-hit small firms

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Banking giant RBS today unveiled plans for a £10 million fund to help London's stricken small business owners in the wake of the riots.

It launched the relief package after the Evening Standard called on big business to back local shops and help restore riot-damaged high streets.

The fund will provide interest- and fee-free loans of up to £25,000 for six months to customers directly hit by the riots. RBS today called on other banks to follow it in supporting the Standard's Save Our Shops campaign.

It comes as new figures show up to 10,000 shops, banks, restaurants and other businesses across London suffered losses as a result of the riots. Small firms were among the worst hit, losing tens of millions of pounds.

Boris Johnson today praised RBS for "recognising its social responsibility" and for acknowledging "the reality that unless we help those small businesses who are the lifeblood of our high streets at a time like this, they will not survive and we will all suffer".

The Mayor has announced a £50million regeneration fund to rebuild damaged areas and Prime Minister David Cameron has said council tax and business rates will be temporarily suspended for seriously affected premises. But many retailers have said they need help now. RBS hopes its short-term loans will offer respite.

Chris Sullivan, chief executive of RBS and NatWest corporate division, said: "We want to do everything we can for businesses affected by the riots and strongly support the Evening Standard's SOS campaign. These loans will help firms waiting for insurance payments or needing urgent repairs to open as soon as possible."

Estimates of the cost of the four days of disturbances are still being compiled by insurers but it seems likely to reach £100 million.

About 500 businesses suffered direct physical damage through vandalism, looting and fire with some 200 of these in Croydon, 70 in Ealing, 40 in Clapham Junction and dozens more in Tottenham, Hackney, Brixton, Woolwich, Walthamstow and elsewhere.

Analysis by business researchers the Local Data Company suggests many thousands more lost trade because local town centres were closed off by police, or warnings of violence meant they chose to close early.

Although many chains were targeted, most notoriously JD Sports, up to two thirds of the affected businesses were independents already struggling to survive testing economic conditions.

The LDC's Barnaby Oswald said: "Almost all the businesses in or around the areas where there was trouble were affected. If you closed early because you were worried, then you were affected.

In our experience that is trade that is never coming back."

RBS's Mr Sullivan added: "As the Evening Standard pointed out on Friday, these small local businesses are the backbone of our neighbourhoods.

We hope other banks can join us in offering such needed loans.

"No one is pretending the road to recovery will be easy or quick. But if the whole community continues to work together we can all help restore our high streets to health."

Business affected by the riots can contact the bank on the following numbers: NatWest business hotline - 0800 158 5977; RBS business hotline -0800 092 3087.

The Café owner
by Emer Martin

The proprietor of a café who used a baseball bat to warn off looters said he would "keep calm and carry on" as his business opened his morning.

Kazim Doleker defended Café Parisienne on Lavender Hill as rioters tore through Clapham Junction a week ago.

Today he thanked the local community for rallying round to keep spirits high after a week that has left many businesses shaken.

Mr Doleker, 42, who has run the café for 11 years, said: "People are making a special effort to buy from the local shops.

"This is a family business, people know if they come here they are making a difference.

"Independent shops will survive, absolutely, if the local community continue to help out, and they are. Lots of my customers dropped by to check on me and I want to thank them."

Today he stood beside a fresh sign on a board outside his shop which read: "Keep calm and carry on, open, thank you".

Mr Doleker, who has one son, said local businesses were helping each other as much as possible.

He added: "I lost a night's sleep and I felt worried but I opened the day after, along with a handful of places along this road."

He gave police half a dozen cases of water and soft drinks when they arrived on the scene of the rioting last Monday night.

The officers tried to pay, but he refused. He added: "We all must take responsibility for solving the problem - that is what a community does.

"Police arrived too late, yes, but now the important thing is to see the Government coming down strong on the kids who caused the damage.
"If they don't, it will happen again."

The shopkeeper
by Shekhar Bhatia

A man whose shop was robbed and wrecked by looters during a night of rioting in Hackney is just 48 hours from re-opening.

Shiva Kandiah, whose tears moved his customers, said the support from locals and well-wishers from around the country had been so great that he felt like crying all over again.

The hard-working convenience store owner, who lost about £60,000 in goods and damage and was left with just 25p in his pocket, has been backed to the tune of £16,000 by supporters who set up a website to raise funds.

Mr Kandiah, who describes himself as a "servant to the community", has partially begun trading again by selling newspapers from the pavement outside his shop as repairs and cleaning continue inside.

He said: "I do not like my customers missing anything and the newspapers are easy to sell from a small table outside. I am happy that I may be able to open my shop again this week if the work is completed and the shop had begun to look like it should be.

"I will not be able to afford all the goods yet and to pay for all the repairs right now, but the nice people who have been coming to see me and help makes me want to cry again. When this terrible thing happened, I thought my life was over. I worked 80 hours a week here and did not know what to do or where to go.

"When I look at the good people working to repair the shop and donate money, my heart starts smiling and my life is filled with sunshine.
"Children have been coming with their parents and offering their pocket money and a man from Canada said his family there had sent £200."

Music mogul Mike Batt, the man behind The Wombles, has also been in touch to offer to provide carpenters and helpers.

Shiva, 39, who also spells his name as Sivaharan, said: "People from all around the world have been supporting me and the response has been fantastic.

"The shop is, I suppose, half-ready. I do not have any new stock. But for me it is a victory just to be able to open the door and let my customers in again. That is all I want to do really; to get on with my life again."

Mr Kandiah's daughter Shivaanthy said: "When I grow up I am going to help my daddy in his shop and have lots of fun."

Jane MacIntyre, a Hackney resident who has been helping co-ordinate support, said: "The response has been incredible. People have been working hard to ensure Shiva does not disappear from Hackney. He is too valuable as a friend and a store owner.

"I run a market in Hackney and people donated to the fund for him including one Spanish lady who made some tortillas and raised £80 by selling them.

"We are planning a street party in Clarence Road to thank Shiva and everybody else who is supporting him."

Donations can be made at helpsiva.com.

The cycle shop owner and the barber
by Mark Blunden

A bike shop smashed up and looted in Croydon has recovered stolen stock thanks to Good Samaritans.

The owners of Cycle King, in Brighton Road, said today that about 30 machines had been wheeled back to their store, which had lost more than £120,000 of goods.

Cycle King director Mark Baker said: "Many bikes have been returned to us by people who have found them in their gardens.

"We also had at least half a dozen people who asked if we needed help cleaning up on the first day. But we can't reopen at the moment because our insurers won't let us until we beef up security.

"We were forced to take down our £25,000 security shutters because the council said they didn't fit in with the street scene. If we had the shutters it would have meant we wouldn't have these problems. So it could be months before we reopen."

About 600 bicycles were looted, including every adult bike and BMX, plus accessories. Electric scooters were dumped around the corner once looters realised there was no battery charge.

Meanwhile Mohamed Abdulla, 31, who runs W£5tern Hairdressers in London Road, opened this morning for his first haircut since the riots - but with no front windows, after they were smashed, costing £1,000 to repair. New clippers and hairdriers were stolen, along with a computer.

Mr Abdulla said: "What these rioters did was terrible but we can't let them win.

"Today I'm starting afresh, people have to believe that they can rebuild Croydon and move on to better things."

Jeya Kumar was back in business less than 48 hours after seeing his Londis shop destroyed by fire and his Best Foods convenience store suffer £30,000 of damage. Mr Kumar, 50, said: "Twelve staff worked all through Tuesday to repair the damage."

He said he had been overwhelmed by support from local people, and met David Cameron during the Prime Minister's visit to Croydon. "London Road still has closures. Police say it should be opened by the end of the week. It's very quiet," he added.

"We're waiting for the insurance of our stock and in the meantime I've had to pay for everything myself, meaning we only have half the products we would normally sell."

Mr Kumar said he had not laid off any staff despite the big hit to his business but he has had to reduce their hours.

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