A new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, delivered by the British Business Bank, will launch early next week to support primarily small and medium-sized businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts.
The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The government will not charge businesses or banks for this guarantee, and the Scheme will support loans of up to £5 million in value.
Businesses can access the first 12 months of that finance interest free, as government will cover the first 12 months of interest payments.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the scheme if:
- your business is UK based, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year
- you operate within an eligible industrial sector (a small number of industrial sectors are not eligible for support or subject to limitations)
- be able to confirm that you have not received de minimis State aid beyond €200,000 equivalent over the current and previous two fiscal years
- be unable to meet a lender’s normal lending requirements for a fully commercial loan or other facility, but would be considered viable in the longer-term
How to access the scheme
You should talk to your bank or finance provider as soon as possible and discuss your business plan with them. This will help your finance provider to act quickly once the Scheme has launched. If you need help with this, the team at Key will be on hand to assist.
If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.
The scheme will be available from early next week commencing 23 March.