New Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme opens to smaller businesses across the UK

Announced by the Chancellor at Budget 2020, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) opens for applications today and can provide facilities of up to £5m for smaller businesses across the UK who are experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cash flow.

Delivered by the British Business Bank, through 40+ accredited lenders and partners, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will support the continued provision of finance to UK smaller businesses (SMEs) during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Although the Budget announced that an initial £1.2bn of government-backed lending would be available through the new scheme, the government has since announced that it will be demand-led and will be resourced accordingly.

Scheme features

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme supports a wide range of business finance products, including term loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance facilities. The scheme provides the lender with a government-backed guarantee, potentially enabling a ‘no’ decision from a lender to become a ‘yes’.

• Up to £5m facility: The maximum value of a facility provided under the scheme will be £5m, available on repayment terms of up to six years.
• 80% guarantee: The scheme provides the lender with a government-backed, partial guarantee (80%) against the outstanding facility balance, subject to an overall cap per lender.
• No guarantee fee for SMEs to access the scheme: No fee for smaller businesses. Lenders will pay a fee to access the scheme.
• Security: At the discretion of the lender, the scheme may be used for unsecured lending for facilities of £250,000 and under. For facilities above £250,000, the lender must establish a lack or absence of security prior to businesses using CBILS. If the lender can offer finance on normal commercial terms without the need to make use of the scheme, they will do so.

Find out more including eligibility criteria