COVID-19 – Business Support – Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme Is Now Live

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is now live.

The key features are:

Up to a £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 of 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.
Interest and fees paid by Government for twelve months: The Government will make a Business Interruption Payment to cover the first twelve months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees, so smaller businesses will benefit from no upfront costs and lower initial repayments.
Finance terms: Finance terms are up to six years for term loans and asset finance facilities. For overdrafts and invoice finance facilities, terms will be up to three years.
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.

A couple of other key points to consider:

If the lender can offer finance on normal commercial terms without the need to make use of the scheme, they will do so.
The borrower always remains 100% liable for the debt.

Smaller businesses from all sectors can apply for up to the full amount of the facility. To be eligible, a business must:

Be UK-based in its business activity, with annual turnover of no more than £45m
Have a borrowing proposal which, were it not for the current pandemic, would be considered viable by the lender, and for which the lender believes the provision of finance will enable the business to trade out of any short-to-medium term difficulty.

If you have any questions or would like any further information, please either email support@cooperfaure.co.uk or book an appointment at https://calendly.com/jonathan-cooper/covid-19-support.

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