A CITY centre business has been left without access to valuable funding due to a loophole, which has already threatened hundreds of independent firms.

Emma Lee Permanent Cosmetics has been running for almost five years and had just moved into a new studio office on Sauchiehall Street before the start of lockdown in March.

The owner of the business, Emma Lee, 35, from Glasgow, described the “nightmare” of trying to apply for a Business Support Fund grant which was meant to keep her “afloat”.

Having just moved into a new space, the attic of the property was not immediately entered to the Valuation Roll by the landlord.

The landlord submitted the relevant paperwork in April but at that point it was too late for the business to be entered on the non-domestic rate (NDR) register.

Emma Lee told the Glasgow Times: “It has been quite upsetting. It has been a really difficult time, not just for me but for other small businesses.

Glasgow Times: Emma Lee, 35, from Glasgow owns a city centre businessEmma Lee, 35, from Glasgow owns a city centre business

“At the time I thought we were eligible for the grant but because it was a new location the landlord hadn’t processed all the paperwork.

“There are other businesses going through the same thing. It is not just me,” she added.

READ MORE: Appeal for justice over funding for Forge Market traders

Glasgow City Council bosses revealed their hands were tired since her business was no on the NDR register as of March 17.

A council spokesman said: “We cannot allocate this funding to this particular business as under Scottish Government guidance they are not be eligible for funding support as they were not be on the (NDR) register as of 17 March 2020 and also not applied for/in receipt of SBBS (Scottish Business Bonus Scheme). Both of these are conditions for receiving this funding.

“There is nothing Glasgow City Council can do about this under current Scottish Government guidance.”

The £10,000 cash boost was meant to cover the costs of rent during lockdown and without it the 35-year-old business owner fears she will be in arrear with the landlord.

She added: “The high street is falling flat on its face as it is. A lot of small businesses are not going to be able to open back up."

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Local authorities administered the business support grant schemes on behalf of the Scottish Government and we cannot comment on individual cases as it is for councils to determine eligibility of applications using the information they have.

“Eligibility is based on the local authority records for property use and rateable value as at 17 March 2020.

“The business support grant scheme (which closed to new applications on 10 July) was announced on 18 March. The cut-off date for eligibility as at 17 March was intended to mitigate against behaviour changes or potential abuses of the grant funds as a result of the scheme being announced.

“The Cabinet Secretary for Finance wrote to councils in April asking them to ensure they had arrangements in place to support any applicant’s request for an internal review of their case.”