Sky launches £1m advertising fund for small businesses May 5, 2020 Sky has today launched a £1m fund that will provide free TV advertising campaigns to 100 small businesses hit by the coronavirus crisis. The scheme is available to small and medium sized businesses that have been running for at least a year in the UK with up to 50 full-time employees. Companies can nominate themselves [...]
More than 100,000 UK firms apply for ‘bounce back loans’ on first day May 5, 2020 UK banks have reported huge demand for “bounce back loans” on the first day of the new coronavirus lending scheme yesterday, with more than 100,000 of Britain’s smallest businesses applying by this afternoon. The bounce back loan scheme is the latest coronavirus support package for UK firms. Launched yesterday, it offers the UK’s smallest companies [...]
Coronavirus: The hospitality sector needs more support May 5, 2020 The UK hospitality sector contributes £130bn to GDP per annum and is the third largest employer with 3.2 million workers. Although it is one of the UK’s sectors most brutally impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the level of support it has received so far from government is unfortunately not in line with its vital contribution [...]
Lloyds boss: Coronavirus business loan scheme was ‘painful’ and ‘flawed’ when launched May 4, 2020 The launch of the government’s coronavirus business loan scheme was “painful” and “flawed”, according to one of the top bosses of Lloyds Bank. David Oldfield, group director and chief executive of commercial banking at Lloyds, said today that the government’s emergency loan scheme was “cumbersome and onerous” when it launched. He added that he still [...]
HSBC receives 12,800 applications for ‘bounce-back loans’ in first few hours May 4, 2020 The UK’s biggest banks have been inundated with requests from small businesses for new coronavirus “bounce-back loans”, with HSBC receiving 12,800 applications in the first few hours of the scheme. The government’s newest coronavirus lending scheme launched today and offers the UK’s smallest companies loans worth 25 per cent of turnover, up to £50,000, just [...]
Barclays receiving 35 applications a minute for bounce back loans May 4, 2020 Barclays has received 35 loan applications per minute this morning for the newly launched bounce bank loan scheme, according to the bank’s UK boss. Barclays Bank UK chief executive Matt Hammerstein told a House of Commons committee today that his bank received received 200 applications within minutes of the emergency scheme opening at 8am. The [...]
Startups’ coronavirus Future Fund is a ‘bad deal’ for founders May 4, 2020 The government’s flagship support scheme for startups hit by coronavirus, the Future Fund, has been described as “simply not good enough” and “a bad deal” by one of the UK’s leading tech entrepreneurs. Priya Lakhani, founder and CEO of education technology company Century, said the terms under which money could be accessed through the scheme are [...]
UK launches 100 per cent state-backed ‘bounce back’ loans May 4, 2020 The UK’s smallest businesses will be able to apply for 100 per cent state-backed so-called bounce back loans worth up to £50,000 from today. The government’s bounce back loans scheme provides micro loans worth 25 per cent of turnover, up to £50,000, just 24 hours after applying for them. The minimum loan amount is £2,000 [...]
Robot waiters, half the tables, and crossed fingers: How restaurants will reopen after UK lockdown ends May 2, 2020 Robot waiters, staff in masks and two metres between each table. This is what dining out could look like when the UK coronavirus lockdown is eased. At least, for the restaurants that manage to survive. Official government guidance on reopening has been limited so far. However, that could change soon as the Prime Minister said [...]
Coronavirus small business loan lending tops £4.1bn but concerns remain over scheme April 30, 2020 Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) lending has topped £4.1bn, according to bank industry body UK Finance. Over £1.33bn of loans were approved in the week to 28 April. The number of loans provided through the scheme has increased by 8,638 over the same period to a total of 25,262, an increase of over 50 [...]