The Recovery Loan Scheme is open to applications from today (Tuesday 6 April 2021). The scheme has been designed to support borrowing of up to £10m per individual business and £30m per group.
The scheme is currently scheduled to run until 31 December 2021, but this is subject to review.
There are different options for businesses to choose from. These are term loans, overdrafts, asset finance and invoice finance, but all are subject to the lender being accredited for each of these finance types.
Term loans and asset finance facilities are available from three months up to six years, with overdrafts and invoice finance available from three months up to three years.
Businesses must meet the costs of any interest payments as well as fees associated with the RLS facility.
Businesses can still access the new scheme if they have taken out a CBILS, CLBILS or BBLS facility. The amount they have previously borrowed under an existing scheme could limit the amount that they borrow under RLS.
The annual effective rate of interest and upfront and other fees cannot be more than 14.99%.
Personal guarantees are not permitted for facilities of £250,000 or less. Above £250,000 the maximum amount that can be covered under RLS is capped at a maximum of 20% of the outstanding balance of the RLS facility after the proceeds of business assets have been applied. No personal guarantees can be held over Principal Private Residences.
The scheme provides the lender with a government-backed guarantee against the outstanding balance of the facility. The borrower always remains 100% liable for the debt.
As the borrower, you must be able to confirm to the lender that your business has been impacted by Covid-19.
You must be carrying out your trading activity within the UK.
The lender will consider that the borrower has a viable business proposition but may disregard any concerns over its short-to-medium term business performance due to the uncertainty and impact of Covid-19.
Lenders are required to undertake credit and fraud checks for all applicants. The checks and approach may vary between lenders.
There is no turnover restriction for businesses accessing the scheme.
To apply for the Recovery Loan Scheme visit the British Business Bank website to see all accredited lenders. Each lender will have further information about the scheme and how to apply on their website.
If you’d like to know more about the scheme and how to apply you can speak to our team, they would be more than happy to help!