We are just days away from unveiling how hard-pressed businesses can get their hands on hundreds of thousands of pounds of new money to help with rate relief.

More than £250,000 meant for county businesses has been locked in council coffers and we have been working with local authorities to help them release the money.

The funds are what remains of the annual rate relief money given to each local authority to distribute and which were heading back to Government - until Punchline-Gloucester.com got involved.

We can only take credit for working with the local authorities to release the money. That the money has remained unspent (an estimated £7.5 million nationwide) came to light through the campaigning work of a Gloucestershire businessman.

Ian Sloan, of Bankier Sloan Chartered Surveyors, which has an office in Moreton-in-Marsh, is the driving forces behind the investigation and worked with Retail Express and Punchline to make clear the scale of the underspend.

For the full story and how to get your hands on the money - watch this space.