Senate plans EUR 1 billion fund for corona-hit companies

21 September 2020

Hamburg to seal funding gap with stabilisation measure

The senate has adopted a draft law on the so-called "Hamburg Stabilisation Fund", a press release said Tuesday (September 15, 2020). The law foresees up to EUR 1 billion for SMEs facing economic difficulties amid the corona pandemic. Applications can be submitted from autumn 2020. The support takes the form of recapitalisations i.e. silent participations, which can be combined with other forms of security or guarantees. The senate does not seek entrepreneurial influence, the press release said.

Lastest fund to close gap

"However, as many mid-sized companies have come under pressure as the crisis progresses and equity is threatening their continued existence, we want to seal a very important funding gap with the Hamburg Stabilisation Fund," said Andreas Dressel, Senator for Finance. This latest fund targets companies whose failure to survive would have a considerable impact on the economy, technological sovereignty, supply security, critical infrastructures or Hamburg's labour marke. The minimum volume per case amounts to EUR 800,000 under the plans.

Prerequisites

The Hamburg Stabilisation Fund is the city's largest funding instrument and forms part of the senate's comprehensive economic stimulus and growth programme involving several ministries and institutions. Some companies have come under pressure in terms of capital and through no fault of their own due to the corona crisis. Both Hamburg and the German government are alleviating the situation through temporary capital investments. This benefits companies with:

1) a balance sheet total of more than EUR 10 million and not exceeding EUR 43 million

2) turnover of more than EUR 10 million and not exceeding EUR 50 million

3) more than 50 employees and not more than 249 employees on an annual average.

Companies must meet at least two of these criteria.
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