Extended deadline for CBILS
There is still time to apply for Coronavirus Business Loan Schemes (CBILS). Banks and accredited lenders have been given extra time to grant Government backed coronavirus business loans to medium-sized and larger businesses, in what could signal an extension of the schemes to run beyond this year.
The scheme’s administrators, the British Business Bank (BBB) has written to accredited lenders saying that applications for CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) still had to be received by 30th September, but that the date for final approval would be pushed back two months to 30th November 2020.
Similarly, while the cut off for large CBILS (CLBILS) applications remains at 20th October, the deadline for approving them has been set for 31st December.
According to the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), some lenders interpreted this as an extension of the loans, which could be the first step in a move to keep the schemes open into next year. However, when the UK Government set up the schemes, it said that each was temporary and would last six months.
So far, over 1.2 million businesses have to date benefitted from loans and guarantees worth £52.65bn through schemes delivered by the BBB. This includes 1,174,854 Bounce Back Loans worth over £35bn, 60,409 facilities worth almost £13.7bn through CBILS and 516 facilities worth £3.5bn through the CLBILS.
According to the British Business Bank, it continues to review applications from a wide range of lender types, from PRA-regulated banks, to platform lenders, debt funds, invoice finance lenders, asset finance lenders.
Under the scheme, CBILS lenders are able to provide finance to smaller businesses with turnover of up to £45m that are suffering disruption to their cashflow due to lost or deferred revenues during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Craig Blackmore, Director of Verde Corporate Finance commented: “It is encouraging for businesses that there is still time to apply for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Having worked with several organisations on successful applications, we appreciate first-hand how important this Government support has been for businesses who are experiencing unprecedented pressures on revenue and cashflow. We are still finding some uncertainty across various markets, and so we believe the extension of the CBILS deadline could yet be essential for some businesses that have not yet acted.”
Verde Corporate Finance are specialists in applying for loans, grants, and funding packages. Using an advisor like Verde will ensure the application is submitted with the correct financial analysis, business case and supporting information required, and can vastly increase the chances of acceptance, while also reducing the chances of unnecessary delays.