The British Business Bank has launched its Growth Guarantee Scheme today (July 8) to help smaller businesses access finance to invest and grow.
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is designed to support access to finance for UK smaller businesses as they look to invest and grow and is expected to support around 11,000 smaller businesses between July 1, 2024 and March 31, 2026.
Speaking on the launch, British Business Bank managing director of guarantee and wholesale solutions, Reinald de Monchy, said: “We’re excited to launch the Growth Guarantee Scheme, which will allow lenders to offer more finance to their customers.
“This will help to generate more sustainable growth across the UK and provide a springboard to many smaller businesses to scale up or stay ahead.”
The British Business Bank has, so far, accredited 41 lenders for the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
The bank detailed that, following their accreditation, each lender needs to put in place the operations required to start lending under the scheme, and they will be listed on the British Business Bank website once they are ready to start receiving applications.
20 lenders have so far confirmed they are open for applications and further lenders are going through the accreditation process and will be accredited over the coming weeks.
These lenders will provide a wide range of finance types to smaller businesses, including term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.
Scheme features
The terms of the scheme are intended to remain broadly unchanged from its predecessor, the Recovery Loan Scheme, enabling continuity and consistency for lenders and the business community.
The scheme terms include up to £2mn per business group, a wide range of products, and access to multiple schemes.
The terms also include personal guarantees, which can be taken at the lender’s discretion, and a 70 per cent government-backed guarantee against the outstanding balance of the facility after it has completed its normal recovery process.
Lastly, the bank detailed that decision-making delegated to the lender, with Growth Guarantee Scheme-backed facilities being provided at the discretion of the lender.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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