Loan schemes which were introduced by the government at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak have now come to an end.
Applications for the business interruption and bounce-back loan officially closed on 31 March 2021. This doesn’t mean that eligible businesses will no longer be entitled to financial help if they’re struggling with the impact of COVID-19 however.
Any firm which received financial support from any of the loan schemes can apply for the recovery loan scheme from 6 April 2021. UK businesses of any size can apply for a loan or overdraft of between £25,001 and £10m until the end of 2021, with interest and fees applying.
Invoice finance and asset finance worth between £1,000 and £10m per business is also available over the same period.
The Government hopes the scheme will help businesses recover and grow as lockdown restrictions begin to ease. This will see the likes of non-essential retail, leisure and outdoor hospitality open from 12 April 2021. From 17 May 2021, restrictions ease further with indoor settings and larger gatherings allowed. If all goes well, coronavirus restrictions are expected to come to an end on 21 June 2021.
Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce commented:
“Accessing finance remains crucial to the lifeblood of a business and so the announcement of a new loan scheme is welcome. The acid test for the new scheme will be whether it’s able to support recovery by getting credit flowing to the firms who most need it. The scheme must be right from day one to ensure that businesses and banks can use it to help SMEs return to growth.”
If you would like more information about the recovery loan scheme or would like help applying, please get in touch with PKB.
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