The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) went live yesterday. There are several banks offering this scheme, and your first port of call should be to speak with your Relationship Manager.

Banks will be working hard to provide this funding, however, it will still take many man-hours to arrange and process an application, and so we expect that banks will be focusing initially on their current customers.

Businesses will be expected to have explored other avenues, such as VAT deferment and furloughing employees. It’s worth noting that should a business have already been turned down for a loan by one bank then they are unlikely to be approved by another. Therefore, other lending may need to be considered.

The British Business Bank Website has details on the how the scheme should operate and includes the following FAQ helpsheet:https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/British-Business-Bank-CBILS-FAQs-for-SMEs-FINAL.pdf