Hospitality industry asks government for financial support to overcome rent deadlock June 9, 2020 The hospitality industry has warned there will be significant job losses and business failures unless the government provides financial support to overcome the rent stand-off between landlords and tenants. Trade body UK Hospitality has said that a continued “stalemate” between landlords and tenants on the matter of unpaid rent needs to be resolved or reopening [...]
Government’s Future Fund approves just £55.9m of convertible loans to date June 9, 2020 The government’s Future Fund scheme has approved £55.9m of convertible loans despite receiving applications worth £515m on the first day of launching. The fund was set up as an alternative to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS) for startups unable to demonstrate a turnover. It was designed to support startups through the coronavirus crisis [...]
Coronavirus business loan borrowing nears £35bn but CBILS approval rate languishes June 9, 2020 British businesses have borrowed almost £35bn under the government’s three emergency coronavirus credit programmes, but the approval rate for coronavirus business interruption loans (CBILS) remains just over 50 per cent. The bounce back loan scheme, which supports small businesses with 100 per cent state-backed loans, continued to see the strongest demand, according to new figures [...]
Coronavirus: New fund launched to create apprenticeships in London June 9, 2020 A new fund has been launched by City Hall and a leading London think tank to provide retraining opportunities to London businesses affected by coronavirus. The London Progression Collaboration – run by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Greater London Authority – launched the fund today, with £500,000 already pledged by companies [...]
Businesses urge Treasury to incentivise private investors to protect SMEs from collapse June 8, 2020 British businesses have called on the Treasury to incentivise private investors to invest in SMEs that have been badly affected by the coronavirus crisis. In a letter to the Chancellor, law firm Buckworths has asked the government to incentivise so-called angel investors to invest in startups to help them repay the debt that has mounted [...]
Small businesses could fail to pay back coronavirus loans, BoE governor warned June 7, 2020 The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has been warned that £36bn of emergency coronavirus loans to small businesses risk turning toxic. A report by industry body TheCityUK’s Recapitalisation Group that will be published tomorrow warns of “unsustainable” debts which could impede recovery. The report, chaired by Aviva chairman Sir Adrian Montague and supported by [...]
CBILS: Market Finance starts small business lending under Covid-19 scheme June 5, 2020 Market Finance today opened for loan applications from small businesses under the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS). The London fintech firm last month gained accreditation from the British Business Bank to offer loans under CBILS, which offers support to small firms impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. Market Finance will offer a term loan [...]
Coronavirus loans: George Osborne calls for future government ‘debt forgiveness’ programme June 3, 2020 The government should implement a future “debt forgiveness” programme for companies borrowing through its coroanvirus loan schemes, according to former chancellor George Osborne. Osborne said small and micro businesses “who are engines of growth” should have their debts written off in several years’ time if they are still carrying debt burdens from the government’s emergency [...]
UK faces protracted recovery without action on business debt, says IoD June 3, 2020 Action must be taken to tackle the burden of debt on small and medium-sized businesses to avoid a protracted economic recovery, says the Institute of Directors (IoD). The institute has called on the government and banks to help tackle the “debt mountain” otherwise the UK faces an even slower path to economic recovery. In a [...]
UK coronavirus loans top £31bn but just half of CBILs approved June 2, 2020 UK businesses have borrowed £31bn from banks through the government’s coronavirus loan scheme, but the approval rate on its flagship CBILs programme is still languishing at around 50 per cent. Figures released today showed that the three main coronavirus loan schemes have helped firms access £31.3bn. The bulk has been through the “bounce-back” loan scheme, [...]