The temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme supports SMEs with access to loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance of up to £5 million and for up to 6 years.
The government will also make a Business Interruption Payment to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees, so smaller businesses will benefit from no upfront costs and lower initial repayments.
The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to pre-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The scheme will be delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the government-owned British Business Bank.
There are 40 accredited lenders able to offer the scheme, including all the major banks.
Find out if you’re eligible and how to apply.
Support for large businesses through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme
The new Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) will provide a government guarantee of 80% to enable banks to make loans of up to £25 million to firms with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £500 million.
This will give banks the confidence to lend to many more businesses which are impacted by coronavirus. Facilities backed by a guarantee under CLBILS will be offered at commercial rates of interest.
We expect the scheme to be delivered through commercial lenders. The government will provide lenders with an 80% guarantee on individual loans for businesses that would be otherwise unable to access the finance they need.
Lenders will still be expected to conduct their usual credit risk checks. This scheme allows lenders to specifically support businesses that were viable before the COVID-19 outbreak but now face significant cash flow difficulties that would otherwise make their business unviable in the short term.
The new scheme will launch later this month and will support a wide range of businesses to access finance products including short term loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance.
Businesses would remain responsible for repaying any facility they may takeout.
Eligibility
To be eligible, your business must:
- be UK-based in its business activity
- have an annual turnover between £45 million and £500 million
- be unable to secure regular commercial financing
- have a borrowing proposal which the lender:
- would consider viable, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic
- believes will enable you to trade out of any short-term to medium-term difficulty
Businesses from any sector can apply, except for the following:
- banks and building societies
- insurers and reinsurers (but not insurance brokers)
- public-sector organisations, including state-funded primary and secondary schools
Further detail on eligibility will be confirmed later this month.
How to access the scheme
The new scheme will launch later this month. We anticipate it will be available through a range of accredited lenders.
Once the scheme has launched, there is likely to be a big demand for facilities – businesses should consider applying via the lender’s website in the first instance. Telephone lines are likely to be busy and branches may have limited capacity to handle enquiries due to social distancing.
Support for larger firms through the COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility
Under the new Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility, the Bank of England will buy short term debt from larger companies.
This will support your company if it has been affected by a short-term funding squeeze, and allow you to finance your short-term liabilities.
It will also support corporate finance markets overall and ease the supply of credit to all firms.
Eligibility
All non-financial companies that meet the criteria set out on the Bank of England’s website are eligible.
How to access the scheme
The scheme is now available for applications.
More information is available from the Bank of England.
