We are accredited under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Check your eligibility & apply today. Find out more →
With the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) posing new and unique challenges for small businesses we've pulled together some useful resources that may help.
The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) presents new challenges for UK businesses presently. Over the last few weeks, the government have released a series of initiatives designed to support business owners during this difficult time.
We appreciate however, that keeping on top of new information and knowing how to access some of these supportive measures can be tough.
So we’ve condensed this information into an easy to digest overview of all the key announcements and we will continue to update this page. We hope you find it helpful.
In recent weeks, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced several measures designed to increase support and investment for UK businesses, these included:
The largest of the announced funding measures is the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme or, CBILS, delivered via the British Business Bank (BBB) which, includes Business Finance, Invoice Finance, Overdrafts and Asset Finance options and enables loans of between £50,001 and £5m per business, representing a large part of the government's overarching £330bn rescue package.
Term loans and asset finance facilities are available for up to six years, overdrafts and invoice finance facilities are available for up to three years. Loans of less than £250,000 are unsecured.
The scheme has now been extended to cover all viable small and medium business who have faced financial difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is also stopping lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000 and making operational changes to speed up lending approvals.
For businesses: the initial 12 months of interest are covered by government, supporting SMEs to recover from the impact of the virus
For lenders: there is a government backed guarantee for 80% of the loan
To be eligible, businesses must:
White Oak UK is an accredited lender on the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and now taking applications. Find out more on the scheme below and see if your business is eligible to apply.
The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) provides financial support to mid-sized and larger UK businesses 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.
Specifically, it facilitates access to finance for businesses with a turnover above £45 million, the upper limit for the existing smaller-business focused Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
CLBILS will be available through a range of British Business Bank accredited lenders and partners, which will be listed on the British Business Bank website.
A lender can provide:
Finance is available in the form of:
CLBILS gives the lender a government-backed partial guarantee (80%) against the outstanding balance of the facility. 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, but claims cannot exceed 20% of losses after all other recoveries have been applied.
To be eligible, businesses must:
To apply, businesses should speak to their bank or accredited CLBILS lender firstly. This is not available directly through White Oak UK.
The latest Government scheme will help small and medium-sized businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to apply for loans of up to £50,000.
The government will guarantee 100% of the loan and there won’t be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months. Find out more on gov.uk here.
The Government has announced a new scheme to issue convertible loans to innovative companies which are facing financing difficulties due to the Coronavirus outbreak: the Future Fund.
The Government will initially make up to £250,000,000 available in total for the scheme. More here.
This scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months. This may be extended if needed. More here.
The CCFF will provide funding to businesses by purchasing commercial paper of up to one-year maturity, issued by firms making a material contribution to the UK economy. It will help businesses across a range of sectors to pay wages and suppliers, even while experiencing severe disruption to cashflows. More here.
The UK Government announced temporary changes to the VAT payments due between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 to help businesses manage their cash flow. If you chose to defer payments, you must pay the VAT due on or before 31 March 2021.
SMEs can request a suspension of HMRC debt collection activities, although this is to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Charities across the UK will receive a £750 million package of support to ensure they can continue their vital work during the coronavirus outbreak. More Here.
There is a one-off grant of £10,000 available to these businesses through the SBBR and RRR schemes.
Business rates will not be due for this year, with an additional £25,000 grant available to some businesses where the rateable value is between £15,000 and £51,000.
For up to date guidance and new measures from the Government, we recommend that businesses visit the following sources:
See the British Business Bank response to the 2020 Budget, including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
The BBB have a useful list of certain sectors excluded from CBILS - full eligibility list is available here (pdf).
See this page on on gov.uk for information on;
See this page on gov.uk for guidance for employees, employers and businesses in providing advice about the novel coronavirus
To help you find the right support, advice and information to help with the impact of coronavirus on your business, you may find the Government’s Business Support Hub as useful resource.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has collated information and advice for employers in relation to COVID-19.
Full information can be found on the FSB website here.
We could not have been happier. Banks as usual were a nightmare - they took over six weeks to eventually refuse for vague reasons unexplained. White Oak UK were professional, helpful, friendly, and best of all, fast.
The Profitable Firm
Karen Reyburn, Director
White Oak UK, Dee House, St David's Park, Ewloe, Flintshire, CH5 3XF
New Customer: 0330 053 6163
Existing Customer: 0330 058 0837
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LDF Operations Limited (Reg No:02029122), LDF Finance No.1 Limited (Reg No: 4893877), LDF Finance No.2 Limited (Reg No: 08822802) and LDF Finance No.3 Limited (Reg No: 8822799), trading as White Oak UK, are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit-related regulated activities (including hiring), each being incorporated under the Companies Acts in England & Wales and having their Registered Office at Dee House, St David’s Park, Ewloe, Flintshire, CH5 3XF. LDF Ops Limited (Reg No: SC198910) trading as White Oak UK, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit-related activities (including hiring) and having its Registered Office at Sixth Floor, 58 Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 7DA. White Oak UK (CBILS) Limited (Reg No: 12435750), incorporated under the Companies Acts in England & Wales and having its Registered Office at Dee House, St David’s Park, Ewloe, Flintshire, CH5 3XF