Published: November 16th, 2020
New help is now available to small businesses under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
Businesses which have already received a loan from the scheme – but did not borrow the maximum amount available to them – can now apply to their lender for a top-up.
The Bounce Back Loan top-up is already available from several large lenders with others anticipated to make the top-up available in due course.
Under the scheme, the top-ups are only available from a borrower’s existing BBLS lender. A borrower can apply for a top-up that is for the lesser of £50,000 or 25 per cent of the annual turnover the borrower certified in their original successful BBLS application form, minus the value of their original loan.
So, if a borrower had certified an annual turnover of £100,000 in their original application and taken a Bounce Back Loan of £20,000 (20 per cent of that certified annual turnover), they can ask to borrow an additional £5,000 (five per cent of that certified annual turnover), taking their Bounce Back Loan to the maximum 25 per cent of their originally certified annual turnover.
The amount of top-up available to any individual business will vary depending on the turnover certified in their original loan applications and the relative size of the original loan.
One top-up will be available per borrower from the existing lender, which must be of at least £1,000.
The capital repayment holiday runs for 12 months from the initial drawdown date on the original Bounce Back Loan. For example, if the initial drawdown date of the original Bounce Back Loan was on 1 June 2020, and the drawdown date of the top-up was on 1 November 2020, the capital repayment holiday period will run to 31 May 2021.
A short form template application form will be available from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme accredited lenders. Borrowers must complete this application form to be eligible for a top-up.
The top-up application form will require borrowers to indicate the amount of the top-up requested and re-provide certain declarations set out in the original Bounce Back Loan application form.
Further details and conditions are available on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme page on the British Business Bank website.
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