Several businesses in the UK have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the government has introduced various support mechanisms for these UK businesses. These are the key schemes for small and medium-sized businesses, large businesses, and self-employed persons.

Small and medium-sized businesses

If you are a business owner and think you may be eligible for a support mechanism for small and medium-sized businesses, consult with business law solicitors at LegalLiaise to know more about how, where, and when to apply for these loans and funds.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) gives small and medium-sized businesses access to loans and other kinds of finance of up to £5 million. The loan will be for up to three years for overdrafts and invoice finance facilities and up to six years for loans and asset finance facilities. Through the CBILS, the government also guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender and pays interest and any fees for the first 12 months.

The Future Fund issues convertible loans between £125,000 and £5 million to innovative companies that are facing financing difficulties due to the global pandemic. The application submission deadline for this scheme is the end September 2020 and these convertible loans are an option for businesses that rely on equity investment and are unable to access other government business support programmes because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit.

The government has also introduced a Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) that enables smaller businesses to access finance more quickly during the pandemic. This loan scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover, with the maximum loan available being £50,000.

The government also guarantees 100% of the loan with no fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months, after which the interest rate will be 2.5% a year.

If any of these loan schemes interest you, you can go through the eligibility criteria with a law firm UK from LegalLiaise who will assist you with the submission of necessary documents and information.

Large businesses

If you are the owner of a large business and need government assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can speak to business solicitors for legal advice UK on the programmes you are eligible for.

One of the key financial support mechanisms for large businesses is the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme which gives medium and large sized businesses access to loans and other kinds of finance up to £200 million with the government guaranteeing 80% of the finance to the lender.

You are eligible for this if your business is UK-based, has an annual turnover of over £45 million, and has not received support under the Bank of England’s COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF). In addition to this, you will be required to show that your business would be viable if not for the pandemic, your business has been affected by COVID-19, and that the loan will enable you to trade out of any short-term to medium-term difficulty resulting from the pandemic.

The CCFF helps large businesses affected by coronavirus through the purchase of their short-term debt and is delivered through commercial lenders and backed by the Bank of England. It will operate for 12 months and for as long as steps are needed to relieve cash flow pressures on firms that make a material contribution to the UK economy.

Self-employed

If you are self-employed or a member of a partnership and have been adversely affected by the pandemic, business solicitors may give you a legal services UK to apply for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

Under this scheme, you can claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your average monthly trading profits paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits and capped at £7,500 in total. You are eligible for this support scheme if you traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted your Self-Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year, traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020, intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021, and carry on a trade adversely affected by COVID-19.

Published date - February 23, 2021