CORONAVIRUS BUSINESS INTERRUPTION LOAN SCHEME (“CBILS”) – WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Similar to Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
- It will operate in a similar way to EFG and be provided by the British Business Bank, but will offer more attractive terms for both businesses and lenders, with the aim of supporting the continued provision of finance to UK businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak
- The British Business Bank’s CBILS facilitates business finance to smaller businesses that are viable but unable to obtain finance due to having insufficient security to meet the lender’s normal requirements. The borrower always remains 100% liable for the debt. In this situation, CBILS provides the lender with a government-backed 80% guarantee against the outstanding facility balance, potentially enabling a ‘no’ credit decision from a lender to become a ‘yes
Use of and application process
- An accredited lender can use CBILS to help a borrower access from, £1,000 to £1.2 million. Finance terms are from three months up to ten years for term loans and asset finance and up to three years for revolving facilities and invoice finance.
- To apply for an CBILS-backed facility, businesses will need to consider approaching one or more participating lenders to discuss their borrowing needs
- CBILS supports a wide range of business finance products, including:
- Term facilities
- Overdrafts
- Invoice finance facilities
- Asset finance facilities
Eligibility criteria
Be UK based, with turnover of no more than £41 million per annum
- Operate within an eligible industrial sector
- Almost all business sectors are eligible, however there are a small number of excluded/restricted sectors arising primarily from EU de minimis-State aid. An in-depth list of the main sectoral and purpose restrictions can be found here
- Have a sound borrowing proposal, but insufficient security to meet a lender’s normal requirements
- Be able to confirm that they have not received de minimis State aid beyond €200,000 equivalent over the current and previous two fiscal year
- A limited number of further eligibility restrictions do apply. Full details can be found. (We are currently looking to liaise with a State Aid specialist solicitor to see if we can give more clarity on this area and other references to State Aid)