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Billions in government-backed lending support exists for UK businesses, and in twelve years of broking I have met very few owners who could name a single scheme. Here is the map, in plain English, with the honesty most pages on this subject lack.
The British Business Bank is the government's economic development bank. It does not lend to businesses directly; instead it backs the lenders and funds that do, through guarantee schemes, regional investment funds and programmes that increase the amount of finance flowing to smaller UK companies. The practical effect for you is simple: there are lenders out there whose appetite is materially stronger than it would otherwise be, because the government is standing behind part of the risk.
The schemes that matter to most trading businesses are these. The Growth Guarantee Scheme gives accredited lenders a government-backed guarantee on facilities of up to £2m, which helps viable businesses get a yes where the numbers alone might have produced a maybe. The Nations and Regions Investment Funds put dedicated pots of money, £660m in the North alone through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, behind smaller regional businesses. Start Up Loans provide government-backed personal loans of up to £25,000 for new businesses. And the Bank Referral Scheme requires the big banks to offer declined businesses a referral to alternative finance platforms.
You will also see programmes on the British Business Bank's site with names like ENABLE, Debt Funds, Structured Capital Solutions and LIFTS. Honest guidance: those are institutional programmes that fund the lenders and fund managers themselves, not products a business applies for. They matter to you only indirectly, because they are part of why specialist lenders have the appetite they do. Anyone marketing them to you as something you can apply for has misunderstood them.
Where we fit: we are an independent credit broker. We arrange facilities through lenders, including lenders accredited under the Growth Guarantee Scheme, we help you work out whether a regional fund fits your situation, and where a scheme is applied for directly, like Start Up Loans, we will tell you that plainly and point you at the official route, because sending you the right way costs us nothing and earns your trust for the deal where you do need us.
Written by Chris Adlam
Founder of Advanced Funding Solutions. Chris has arranged specialist property finance since December 2013 and personally packages and places every deal the firm takes on. Book a call with him directly.
Also see: Government-Backed Finance · Growth Guarantee Scheme · Business Loans · Commercial Mortgages
Start with what the money is for, not the scheme name. One call maps the realistic routes and what each would take.
Frequently asked questions
No. It works through delivery partners: accredited lenders for the Growth Guarantee Scheme, appointed fund managers for the regional funds, and delivery partners for Start Up Loans. That is why the practical question is never just “does the scheme exist” but “which lender or fund manager, and how should the application be presented”.
Not necessarily, and it is a mistake to assume so. The guarantee reduces the lender's risk, which primarily improves the chance of approval and the terms available to businesses that would otherwise struggle. Pricing is set by each lender and depends on your circumstances.
With most of them, yes. Growth Guarantee Scheme facilities are arranged through accredited lenders in the same way as ordinary commercial lending, and regional fund applications benefit from proper packaging. Start Up Loans are the exception: those are applied for through official delivery partners at no cost, and we will point you there rather than pretend otherwise.
Usually you should not start with the scheme at all; you should start with what the money is for, how much, and how fast. The right scheme, if any, falls out of that. That is a fifteen-minute conversation, and it is free.
Question not answered? WhatsApp Chris directly or book a call, it is quicker than email.
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