Last night the Chancellor announced a new loan to help small and medium-sized businesses affected by Covid-19.
This new loan is called a Bounce Back Loan and will be available on 04/05/2020. It will allow businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.
There aren’t many details available yet, but the Chancellor has promised that the government will guarantee 100% of the loan and the business will not have to pay any fees or interest for the first 12 months. The loan will be for a duration of 6 years and repayments won’t need to be made during the first 12 months.
To be eligible for the loan you must be a UK business, have been negatively affected by Covid-19 and you weren’t an “undertaking in difficulty” on 31/12/2019. The government hasn’t yet clarified what they mean by an “undertaking in difficulty” but from what I have read online, it seems to mean any companies that were facing insolvency or has had significant losses, or has higher bad debt than equity.
There are some businesses that won’t be able to apply: banks, insurers and reinsurers, public-sector bodies, futher-education establishments if grant funded, and state-funded primary and secondary schools.
The claim process will open on 04/05/2020 and will be fast-tracked meaning businesses will have their money within a few days.
As more information is released about this new loan I will update it on the blog.
The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.
UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/
I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/