Govt extends BEAT rental discounts to include May after meeting Chamber

The Gibraltar Government has agreed to extend the BEAT Covid-19 rental discounts to the end of May for both Government-owned premises and those leased or licensed by private landlords.

The Government had previously said the discounts would only be extended to the end of April but received representations from the Chamber of Commerce, which was concerned about the impact on businesses, many of which were struggling due to a downturn in trade.

The Chamber asked for the discounts to be extended for the complete quarter.

The issue was discussed at a meeting on Tuesday, at which the government extended the discount to the end of May and agreed to review the position at that point.

No.6 Convent Place thanked private landlords for the support they had provided to local businesses over the past year, adding this had helped to sustain their tenants and helped strengthen Gibraltar’s response to the pandemic at significant cost to themselves.

“I am most grateful to all of our landlords for their support at this most difficult time to our business community,” Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said.

“We believe and hope that our business community will be enjoying better times in June as a result of the success of Operation Freedom and there will be no need for these discounts to continue any further.”

“We have agreed with the Chamber that we will meet with them next month and revisit our progress before reaching any conclusion on this matter.”