Barclays and the British Business Bank have launched a £450m lending scheme to UK small firms allowing them to fund purchases of key assets ranging from laptops to company cars.
The high-street bank said small and medium-sized firms under 250 staff and annual sales under £43m are eligible to apply for its term loans.
Britain’s 5.9 million small firms employed 16.6 million staff and turned over £2.2trn in 2018, according to the Federation of Small businesses.
Barclays added these loans also come with a 0.25 per cent cashback on qualifying loans between £1.2m and £5m. This means a firm applying for the maximum amount will get back £12,500 under the scheme.
Key part of ‘finance landscape’
The business loans from the FTSE 100 lender come through the government’s British Business Bank.
The economic development body’s Enable programme allows commercial banks to lend to growing firms by reducing the amount of capital they are required to hold against these kinds of loans.
British Business Bank chief executive Keith Morgan said: “Term loans are an essential part of the finance landscape for smaller UK businesses, enabling them to make larger longer-term purchases of business assets such as computers, plant and machinery, and vehicles.”
Small Business minister Kelly Tolhurst added: “I would encourage other lenders to take advantage of the guarantees for lending on offer from the government-owned British Business Bank, so we can work together to help our brilliant businesses unleash their potential.”
