The Government has announced a new 100% Government backed loan scheme for small businesses.

Small businesses will benefit from a new fast-track finance scheme providing loans with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders, the Chancellor announced yesterday.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the new Bounce Back Loans scheme, which will provide loans of up to £50,000, would help bolster the existing package of support available to the smallest businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

• Businesses will be able to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and access the cash within days.

• Loans will be interest free for the first 12 months, and businesses can apply online through a short and simple form.

• Loan terms will be up to 6 years.

• No repayments will be due during the first 12 months.

The government will work with lenders to ensure loans delivered through this scheme are advanced as quickly as possible and agree a low standardised level of interest for the remaining period of the loan:

ELIGIBILITY

You can apply for a loan if your business:

• is based in the UK • has been negatively affected by coronavirus • was not an ‘undertaking in difficulty’ on 31 December 2019.

WHO CANNOT APPLY

The following businesses are not eligible to apply:
• banks, insurers and reinsurers (but not insurance brokers)
• public-sector bodies
• further-education establishments if they are grant-funded
• state-funded primary and secondary schools
• if you are already claiming under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

You can just contact your bank and apply by completing a simple form, no accounts, forecasts, or projections are required.