About the scheme
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) provides financial support to smaller businesses (SMEs) across the UK that are losing revenue, and seeing their cashflow disrupted, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The scheme is a part of a wider package of government support for UK businesses and employees. Read more at the Government’s Business Support website.
CBILS has been significantly expanded along with changes to the scheme’s features and eligibility criteria. The changes mean even more smaller businesses across the UK impacted by the coronavirus crisis can access the funding they need.
Importantly, access to the scheme has been opened up to those smaller businesses that would have previously met the requirements for a commercial facility but would not have been eligible for CBILS. Insufficient security is no longer a condition to access the scheme.
This significantly increases the number of businesses eligible for the scheme.
How it works
British Business Bank operates CBILS via its accredited lenders. There are over 90 of these lenders currently working to provide finance. They include:
- high-street banks
- challenger banks
- asset-based lenders
- smaller specialist local lenders
A lender can provide up to £5 million in the form of:
- term loans
- overdrafts
- invoice finance
- asset finance
CBILS gives the lender a government-backed guarantee for the loan repayments to encourage more lending.
The borrower remains fully liable for the debt.
Under the scheme, personal guarantees of any form will not be taken for facilities below £250,000.
For facilities above £250,000, personal guarantees may still be required, at a lender’s discretion, but:
- recoveries under these are capped at a maximum of 20% of the outstanding balance of the CBILS facility after the proceeds of business assets have been applied;
- a Principal Private Residence (PPR) cannot be taken as security to support a personal guarantee or as security for a CBILS-backed facility
