Success Stories

Specialising in anti-ageing skin treatments, 2 Faced Aesthetics worried it may not have been able to cover its direct debits when COVID-19 struck.

Having experienced growth in 2020, this Leeds and London based marketing agency used the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) to continue scaling in 2021, recruiting and training its staff in the Yorkshire region.

Based in the heart of Newcastle, this clothing retailer turned to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) as the city locked down and trading stopped.

Training and corporate events company The Holt Limited saw its customer base disappear overnight when COVID-19 struck. Unable to apply for grants or take advantage of the furlough scheme, the business applied to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) to help it weather the storm ahead.

Seeking funding to complete a new scheme of bungalows while COVID-19 restrictions remained in place became a real challenge for this property developer.

The COVID-19 lockdowns drove this one-woman business to shut down altogether. With her income completely dried up, the owner, Lucy, sought help via the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) so she could move the operation fully online and market her products more widely.

Unable to service its existing customers or win new business because of COVID-19 restrictions, this fire safety company’s future was under threat unless it could secure funding. Declined a loan from its bank, the company turned to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) for a vital lifeline.

Having launched in summer 2019 and experienced an encouraging start to life as a new business, this Cornish chocolate company had strong plans for the future. But once the COVID-19 pandemic asserted itself, the business had no option but to seek financial support in order to find new ways of working.

Despite having to furlough workers and take vehicles off road due to COVID-19, this warehousing and distribution company remained financially stable.

Forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to cease work on its first new development, this housebuilding company decided to seek support via the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) so it could resume construction as soon as restrictions allowed.

While many businesses have focused their efforts on staying afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, this Essex-based company chose to diversify its business to manufacture much-needed medical ventilators rather than its usual motorsport components.

Used to running her business as a one-woman operation, Osmology founder Elizabeth Drew was looking to take on her first employee when COVID-19 hit.

For this Welsh bespoke boat builder, COVID-19 couldn’t have come at a worse time. Having already suffered a major fire in its workshop, the business now had to contend with the cashflow challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Needing funds to restart production and avoid redundancies, the business applied for a loan via the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

As a self-employed, one-woman band whose company was still new, chemistry teacher Lisa Hogg didn’t qualify for any grants that would help her weather the coronavirus pandemic. Seeing her sales decline, and needing to sustain the business, she applied to the <a href='https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-schemes/bounce-back-loans/'>Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) </a>for support.

As it has with many businesses across the UK, the ongoing coronavirus crisis caused this beauty products manufacturer to look closely at its operating model in order to remain in business long term.

Having grown from little more than a market stall in 2014 to an almost £1m-a-year business in 2020, the future was looking bright for this eco-friendly glitter supplier. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the business faced sudden financial trouble, having spent much of its working capital on stock it now couldn’t sell. Furloughing staff and depending solely on its dwindling overdraft, the business applied to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) for support.

Having already struggled through a challenging winter of bad weather, the arrival of COVID-19 and the associated lockdown meant this Cornwall riding centre had to shut down.

Forced to close a new £350,000 salon that opened only four days before the first government lockdown, this business then had to contend with a prolonged period of closure and no revenue from its usual hairdressing services.