
In his announcement for the 2020 Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will temporarily replace the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG)
In this week’s blog, The Think Team outline the upcoming changes and what this will mean for UK SME’s
What are the changes?
The British Business Bank claims the new CBIL Scheme will operate in a similar way to EFG but will offer more attractive terms to businesses and lenders to help support the continued provision of finance to UK businesses during the health crisis.
Other types of finance will also be supported by the program, but this will depend on the provider.
What does CBILS offer?
The CBILS helps facilitate finance to small businesses that are viable, but unable to secure funding due to having insufficient security to meet the lenders requirement. CBILS provides lenders with a government-backed 80% guarantee against the outstanding facility balance – which can potentially enable a ‘no’ decision to become a ‘yes’.
CBILS currently supports a variety of commercial finance products, including:
Term facilities
Overdrafts
Invoice finance facilities
Asset finance facilities
How much can I borrow?
Currently, an accredited lender can use CBILS to help SMEs access from £1,000 to £1.2 million. For term loans and asset finance, terms currently range from three months to ten years and revolving facilities and invoice finance offer terms up to three-years.
What do I need to apply for CBILS?
To be eligible for support via CBILS, small businesses must:
Be based in the UK, with turnover of no more than £41 million per annum
Operate within an eligible industrial sector
Have a sound borrowing proposal, but insufficient security to meet normal lending requirements
Confirmation that they have not received de minimis state aid beyond £200,000 – equivalent over the current and previous 2 fiscal years
How can Think Business Loans help?
At Think Business Loans, we understand the strain SMEs will feel during the health crisis. That’s why we want to ensure your business has the best access to funding to ensure your business is able to survive Covid-19.
Think Business Loans compares hundreds of lenders and match your business using our innovative iFunds® technology, many of which are working with CBILS, to ensure you get the right funding you need to navigate the crisis.
If you would like more information on your current finance options, get in touch with our lending managers today.

Jessica Court
Jessica Court graduated from the University of Portsmouth in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Media Studies. She has previously worked within the In... Explore Author