Close Menu
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing & Mental Health
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
Trending
  • ChatControl is an Invasion of Our Digital Living Spaces
  • European Businesses Facing Increased Costs Due To Supply Chain Disruption
  • New measures to tackle fraud come into effect
  • Dementia Advocate Shares Tips For Supporting People With Dementia When Flying
  • SME Today talks to Sa’ed Anabtawi, Product Director, WOLF
  • The Truth Behind ‘Sickies’
  • Five ways to monetise your business EV chargers
  • New book on conquering fear of public speaking
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
You are at:Home»News»Third phase of British Business Bank’s Recovery Loan Scheme offers £1bn of lending to UK smaller businesses
Third phase of British Business Bank’s Recovery Loan Scheme offers £1bn of lending to UK smaller businesses

Third phase of British Business Bank’s Recovery Loan Scheme offers £1bn of lending to UK smaller businesses

0
Posted By sme-admin on January 22, 2024 News

The British Business Bank announces today that the third iteration of its Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) has supported £1bn of finance offers to smaller businesses since its launch in August 2022.

The guarantee scheme, which has more than 60 participating lenders, has enabled lending to smaller businesses across the whole of the UK. Approximately two thirds of facilities under the third phase of the scheme have been offered outside of London and the South-East.

The Recovery Loan Scheme has also supported a wide range of finance types including term loans, asset finance, invoice finance and revolving credit facilities, and a new asset based lending variant was recently launched.

The scheme has attracted a diverse range of lenders, including specialist and challenger banks, funds, community development finance institutions/social lenders, asset-backed and alternative finance providers, property and development finance providers, as well as the High Street banks.

More than half of the offered facilities were for growth capital for UK smaller businesses, with the majority of the remaining facilities for working capital.

Of the businesses supported, more than 90% had fewer than 50 employees.

Louis Taylor, Chief Executive, British Business Bank said: “This milestone is a fantastic achievement for Louis Taylor, Chief Executive, British Business Bankthe Bank and for all of the lenders participating in the Recovery Loan Scheme. It is good to see the diversity of lenders that have joined the scheme and the types of finance they’ve been able to offer, especially asset finance, which is so important to growing and innovating businesses. Direct loan guarantee schemes such as this are vital to ensuring the market serves the needs of smaller businesses across the UK.”

Kevin Hollinrake MP, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business said: Kevin Hollinrake MP, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business“We’re backing businesses of all sizes and it’s fantastic that over £1 billion has now been delivered to support small businesses across the country who are at the heart of local economies and communities.

“The Recovery Loan Scheme was introduced to support SMEs to invest and grow, and through the British Business Bank we’re supporting entrepreneurs to scale up their ambitions”.

FSB’s National Chair Martin McTague

Martin McTague, National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Keeping finance flowing for small firms is vital to economic growth, and we’re pleased that the third phase of RLS has reached the £1bn mark. This shows its importance for the UK business ecosystem as a whole, and underlines why its future financing must be confirmed by the Government as soon as possible.

“Helping start-ups get off the ground, and grow into scale-ups, is key in both the here-and-now and for the UK’s future prospects, especially in our current high interest rate environment. Having the scheme set up and ready to go will be invaluable in case of an economic slowdown, to ensure funding gets to firms as swiftly as possible.”

Theodora Hadjimichael, Chief Executive Officer, Responsible Finance said: “Wherever they live, Theodora Hadjimichael, Chief Executive Officer, Responsible Financeentrepreneurs need the right finance at the right time to develop their businesses. The Recovery Loan Scheme has enabled Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) to lend successfully to viable businesses unable to access the finance they need elsewhere. Over 90% of the businesses which borrowed from CDFIs last year had been turned down by another lender; 93% were based outside London, and half were based in the UK’s most disadvantaged areas – yet they have all had a “no” turned into a “yes” by a CDFI and the vast majority go on to thrive, repaying their loans and creating opportunities.

“The Recovery Loan Scheme is an essential tool to help CDFIs lend to underserved businesses and create banks’ future customers. It has enabled CDFIs to support hundreds of businesses and make almost £50m of lending, unlocking job creation and business growth across the UK. We’re delighted the Scheme has reached this milestone and look forward to continuing to back diverse and underserved businesses.”

Peter McIntyre, Head of Business Banking, HSBC UK said: “At HSBC UK we’re here to support our Peter McIntyre, Head of Business Banking, HSBC UKcustomers as they meet their ambitions to grow. We’re pleased to support The Recovery Loan scheme which has played a key role in getting finance to companies looking to a positive future after the challenges of recent years.”

Richard Davies, CEO at Allica Bank, said, “Over the past few years, the Recovery Loan Scheme has unlocked vital funding for UK businesses from lenders who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to help them.

richard davies allica“At Allica Bank, we are committed to supporting what we call ‘established businesses’, who are the backbone of the UK economy and our local communities. The Recovery Loan Scheme has been a core part of our lending proposition, allowing us to support even more of these kinds of businesses with their plans for growth.

“We’d like to congratulate the British Business Bank for making such an  impact at what has been a truly challenging time for UK businesses.”

The Recovery Loan Scheme is a government-backed loan scheme designed to support access to finance for UK businesses as they look to invest and grow.

The scheme aims to help smaller businesses across the UK, with turnover of up to £45m, to access finance they may not have had access to commercially, on equivalent terms. Businesses can use the finance for any legitimate business purpose – including managing cashflow, investment in new equipment or vehicles, perhaps to support transition toward net zero, and growth through new products or expansion. However, businesses must be able to afford to take out additional debt finance for these purposes.

It can support facility sizes of up to £2m for borrowers outside the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Borrowers in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol may borrow up to £1m, unless they operate in a sector where aid limits are reduced – in which case the maximum that can be borrowed is subject to a lower cap. These include agriculture, fisheries / aquaculture, and road freight haulage.

The first two phases of the scheme, designed to support access to finance and growth for UK businesses as they recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, enabled £4.3bn of finance.

The British Business Bank intends to publish RLS 3 performance data in 2024, in line with the approach taken for other British Business Bank-managed schemes.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Dementia Advocate Shares Tips For Supporting People With Dementia When Flying

Are you flying blind on your most important business decisions?

OneMetric forms strategic partnership with RevOps expert to drive UK growth

Comments are closed.

Follow SME Today on Linkedin and share all the topics you find interesting

The Newsletter

Join our mailing list for the best SME stories, handpicked and delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks!

Sign Up
Personal Pension offer
Events Calendar
    • Marketing
    August 29, 2025

    OneMetric forms strategic partnership with RevOps expert to drive UK growth

    August 28, 2025

    The Seven Phases of Festive Shopping and How to Target within Each Effectively

    • Finance
    September 3, 2025

    Five ways to monetise your business EV chargers

    September 1, 2025

    Are you flying blind on your most important business decisions?

    • People
    August 14, 2025

    A Life Worth Saving – A Tribute to Dame Stephanie Shirley CH, 1933–2025

    August 12, 2025

    Finance Director Returns As Judge For National Business Awards

    • Health & Safety
    September 2, 2025

    1 in 3 employees anxious about lack of first aiders at work

    July 1, 2025

    Temperatures Soaring: Is Your Workplace Becoming Unsafe?

    • Events
    July 22, 2025

    South West Expo Delivers Outstanding Event at Swindon’s STEAM Museum

    July 4, 2025

    £20k grant for female-founded SME up for grabs

    • Community
    July 11, 2025

    Building community, one cause at a time

    June 23, 2025

    Celebrating One Year In Fairford Supporting The Community

    • Food & Drink
    August 22, 2025

    How to get stocked by major retailers as an SME

    July 18, 2025

    Warning to Small Businesses Over New Food Waste Regulations

    • Books
    September 3, 2025

    New book on conquering fear of public speaking

    August 7, 2025

    Learning to Leave a Legacy in Business

    About

    SME Today is published by the same team who deliver The Great British Expos’. We have been organising various corporate events for the last 10 years, with a strong track record of producing well managed and attended business events across the UK.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Receive the latest news and updates from SMEToday.
    Read our Latest Newsletter:


    Sign Up
    X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    Categories
    • Books
    • Community & Charity
    • Education and Training
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Features
    • Finance
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Safety
    • HR & Recruitment
    • In Profile
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • News
    • People
    • Property & Development
    • Sponsored Content
    • Technology
    • Transport & Tourism
    • Wellbeing & Mental Health
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Editorial Submission Guidelines
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    Copyright © 2025 SME Today.
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Editorial Submission Guidelines
    • Privacy
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.