Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBILS) Scheme launched by government and coordinated by the government owned British Business Bank, provides loans of up to £5m to help small and medium sized businesses across UK experiencing cashflow disruptions due to coronavirus.
CBILS supports a wide range of business finance facilities as term loans, asset finance, overdrafts, invoice finance. The scheme is available through the 40 accredited lenders.
List of accredited lenders can be found
here,
In order to be eligible for this facility, the loan must be for UK based business with annual turnover of no more than £45m. Businesses who want to use CBILS will need to be viable were it not for the current pandemic.
Key features
• The loan is provided to the maximum value of 5m pounds on repayment terms of up to 6 years
• The government provides a guarantee on 80% of all money lent through the scheme encouraging lenders to accept those loans
• Businesses using CBILS will receive a 12-month interest free holiday with government paying their interest charges and other fees
• Short term finance facilities such as overdrafts and invoice finance facilities will be available for up to 3 years
• Term loans and asset finance facilities will be available for up to 6 years
• No guarantee fee for SMEs to access the scheme
• Loans of up to 250,000 pounds may be unsecured at the discretion of the lender and any borrowing over this will require the lender to evidence no security is available before using CBILS
• The borrowers are always 100% liable for the debt
• Banks, building societies, Insurers and Reinsurers, state funded schools, trade unions and professional or employer based, religious or political organizations are not eligible for the scheme. In addition, Fishery, aquaculture and agricultural businesses may not qualify for full interest free and fee levy in the first 12 months
How to Apply?
Application for CBILS should be made directly with one of the lenders participating in the scheme and not the British Business Bank. The demand for these loans is likely to be high, so the British Business Bank has asked businesses to apply with lender’s online rather than going to a branch or calling.
