Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme Information

Update 4 May 2020

Applications –  see link

Update 28 April 2020

The Bounce Back Loan scheme will help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 or a maximum of 25% of business turnover. See our Bounce Back Loan guide.

Update 22 April 2020

The Chancellor announced a UK government-backed loan scheme for large businesses affected by coronavirus has been expanded to cover all viable firms – known as Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)

The details are:

• All viable businesses with turnover of more than £45m will be able to apply for UK Government-backed support.
• Firms with turnover of more than £250 million can borrow up to £50 million from lenders.
• This complements existing support including the Covid Corporate Financing Facility and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

All firms with a turnover of more than £45 million will now be able to apply for up to £25 million of finance, and up to £50 million for firms with a turnover of more than £250 million.

Business with turnovers of more than £500 million were originally not eligible for the scheme, which is being set up to help firms who do not qualify for the existing Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme – for small and medium sized businesses – and the Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility – for investment grade companies. The move, which comes after consultation with businesses, should ensure even more firms are able to benefit from UK Government support.

The CLBILS launches 27 April 2020.

Full details: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-expands-loan-scheme-for-large-businesses–2?utm_source=b7bf6d37-9d1b-4ac2-8068-b7dc100ceb10&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

see link for those participating: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-schemes/clbils/

Update 17 April 2020 – now available to businesses with turnover >£45m – see link

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-coronavirus-large-business-interruption-loan-scheme

We have put together this guide to provide more information on the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) for businesses.

Information on CBILS Participators (Banks & Lenders) can be found here.

Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

The new Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme supports SMEs with access to working capital (including loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance) of up to £5 million in value and for up to 6 years.

The government will pay to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees, so smaller businesses will not face any upfront costs and will benefit from lower initial repayments.

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.

This scheme is being delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the British Business Bank.

Eligibility

You are eligible for the scheme if:

• your business is UK based, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year
• your business meets the other British Business Bank eligibility criteria

How to access the scheme

The scheme is now open for applications. To apply, you should talk to your bank or one of the 40 accredited finance providers (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible, to discuss your business plan. You can find out the latest on the best ways to contact them via their websites.

All major banks are offering this scheme. If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.

The full rules of the scheme and the list of accredited lenders are available on the British Business Bank website.

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 will be available early in week beginning 23 March 2020.

We will provide information on how to access the scheme here shortly.

More information is available from the Bank of England.