Further small business support was announced today with the introduction of a new loan scheme to help those businesses with immediate cashflow issues owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dubbed by chancellor Rishi Sunak today as "Bounce Back" loans (it's possible he's been watching too much Alan Partridge during lock down) these new business loans are different to the business interruption loans (CBILS) announced in the initial raft of Coronavirus support, in a few key ways.
Primarily they will be much easier to apply for, relying on just a single online application process, and are 100% government backed instead of only the 80% backed under CBILS. Businesses can borrow between 2k-50K rather than up to £250K under CBILS, to help mitigate some of the risk to taxpayers on loan payments being defaulted. CBILS are still available for those requiring higher funding than the 50K limit.
They will be interest free for 12 months, with no repayments due in the first 12 months either. Please note though they are still loans rather than grants and ultimately repayable.
The scheme opens for applications on 4th May, with the idea being funds can be drawn relatively quickly after applying.
For more information see
Sorry, couldn't resist
