As of 23rd March

British Business Bank page

You should talk to your bank or finance provider (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible and discuss your business plan with them. This will help your finance provider to act quickly once the Scheme has launched. If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.

Guidance from BBB:

• Any small business interested in CBILS should approach one of the 40+ accredited lenders with their borrowing proposal.
• Accredited lender can offer finance on normal commercial terms without the need to make use of the scheme, they will do so. Where the small business has a sound borrowing proposal but insufficient security, the lender will consider the business for support via the scheme
• Decision-making on whether a business is eligible for CBILS is fully delegated to the 40+ accredited lenders.
• We are in the process of defining and agreeing the scheme’s details, specifications and eligibility and therefore information is subject to change. We will be updating our webpages to reflect any potential changes to CBILS as and when they are published.

Eligibility:

• Business is UK based, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year
• Business meets the other British Business Bank eligibility criteria (??)
  • Have a borrowing proposal which, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic, would be considered viable by the lender, and for which the lender believes the provision of finance will enable your business to trade out of any short-to-medium term difficulty
• Operate within an eligible industrial sector (restricted sectors link)
• Be able to confirm that they have not received de minimis State aid beyond €200,000 equivalent over the current and previous two fiscal years
• Have a sound borrowing proposal, but insufficient security to meet the lender’s requirements

Gov info:

• Temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, delivered by the British Business Bank