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Billions borrowed ahead of closure of coronavirus loan schemes, figures reveal

The total value of lending to small businesses has ramped up ahead of the closure of the coronavirus loan schemes, it has been revealed.

The research, published by the British Business Bank (BBB), shows that more than 1.6 million businesses have benefited from Government-backed finance since the start of the pandemic.

In total, £75.1 billion worth of loans have been delivered to businesses affected by Covid-19 disruption as of March 2021, up from £73 billion in February.

This includes £46.5 billion in loans under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), £23.3 billion under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), £5.3 billion under the Coronavirus Larger Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), and £1.2 billion under the Future Fund.

The figures also show that more than 100,000 small businesses took advantage of the BBLS Top-Up scheme, which helped firms ‘top-up’ their existing Bounce Back Loan if they originally borrowed less than the maximum amount available to them.

Commenting on the figures, the BBB said: “Today the government published new statistics that show businesses across the UK have to date benefitted from 1,630,155 government-guaranteed loans worth £75.1 billion to support their cashflow during the crisis through schemes delivered by the British Business Bank.”

The report comes ahead of the closure of the schemes later this month, which are to be replaced by the new Recovery Loan Scheme from 06 April 2021.

The new scheme will support businesses as they move into the recovery phase of the pandemic by guaranteeing loans of up to £10 million per business.

For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our expert corporate finance team today.