The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), and Future Fund will be extended in response to the second national lockdown, it has been confirmed.
According to HM Treasury, the loan guarantee schemes will be extended until at least the end of January 2021 to support businesses which did not “anticipate the disruption to their business from the pandemic would go on for this long”.
The schemes – which have so far delivered more than £62 billion in financial support – had been due to close at the end of this month.
It means that businesses have two extra months to apply for a loan or top up their existing Bounce Back Loan, up to a maximum of 25 per cent of turnover.
Announcing the changes, an HM Treasury spokesperson said: “We understand that some businesses didn’t anticipate the disruption to their business from the pandemic would go on for this long; this will ensure that they are able to benefit from the loan scheme as intended.”
The latest statistics show that the schemes have been used millions of times by businesses, including 1,336,320 Bounce Back Loans worth £40.2 billion, 73,094 loans worth £17.2 billion through the CBILS and 623 loans worth £4.6 billion through the CLBILS.
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