Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether businesses are eligible to apply for additional Government-backed loans from £2,000 up to the value of £10,000 to increase their borrowing in the event that they have already taken out (a) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme loan, (b) Bounce Back Loan and (c) both such loans in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Businesses with an existing Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) or Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) facility may be eligible to apply for additional Government-backed funds to increase their borrowing, depending on the circumstances of the business.

a) Where a borrower already has a CBILS facility it is possible, depending on the size of their existing loan, to refinance in order to increase their borrowing. Refinancing can be sought with the same or a different accredited lender. It is at the discretion of the lender whether to consider a borrower’s request for refinancing, and a lenders’ refinancing activity is also subject to certain limits.

b) The Government amended the rules for BBLS in November 2020 to allow businesses to apply to ‘top-up’ their existing BBLS facility – from a minimum of £1,000, up to either 25% of the originally self-certified annual turnover or £50,000, whichever is lesser. Businesses which have received State Aid under another Temporary Framework scheme, or who originally self-declared as being a “business in difficulty”, may only be eligible for a lower loan amount. Top-ups are only available from a borrower’s existing BBLS lender.

c) A borrower can only make use of one of BBLS, CBILS, or Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) at one time. However, a business that has, for example, a CBILS facility can apply for a BBLS facility, or vice versa, in order to refinance the original loan in full.

The maximum facility size for any business borrowing under any of the three Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes is subject to affordability limits specific to each business, as determined by the lender.