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Analysis of final Coronavirus loan scheme data shows £79.3bn of loans to 1.67m businesses, evenly distributed across whole of the UK

Press release 06 July 2021

  • £47.4bn Bounce Back Loan Scheme
  • £26.4bn Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
  • £5.6bn Coronavirus Larger Business Interruption Loan Scheme
  • Outside London and the South East, the North West reports the largest usage of CBILS and BBLS
  • Wholesale and retail sector received highest value of loans (£12.4bn), followed by Construction (£11.7bn).

Today the government publishes new statistics that show businesses across the UK have benefitted from 1,670,939 government-guaranteed loans worth £79.3bn. These loans helped support their cashflow during the crisis through schemes delivered by the British Business Bank.

This includes 1,560,309 Bounce Back Loans worth £47.36 billion, 109,877 loans worth £26.39 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and 753 loans worth £5.56 billion through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. New figures for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme Top-Ups reveal 106,660 loans have been approved worth £0.95bn.1

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme all closed on 31 March 2021.

New data also published today by the British Business Bank reveals the detailed regional and sectoral distribution of loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).

The data shows that the proportion of overall loans in each of the nine English regions and three Devolved Nations matches closely their respective share of the UK business population.

The North West reports the largest usage of CBILs and BBLS (11%) outside London and the South East (34%), ahead of the East of England (10%).

The data also provides analysis of loan uptake across sectors with construction (17%) and wholesale and retail (15%) receiving the highest proportion of total loans.

For CBILS, the manufacturing sector accessed a significantly higher proportion of loans (14%) than its share of the business population (5%), followed by wholesale and retail (17% v 9.2%).

For BBLS, the wholesale and retail sector accessed a significantly higher proportion of loans (15%) than its share of the business population (9%). The construction sector accessed the highest proportion of BBLS loans overall (17%).

  • 1

    These are included in the £47.36bn, 109,884 BBLS totals above

The Covid-19 loan schemes have been an important part of the government’s response to the pandemic, providing businesses with much-needed breathing space and reducing cash-flow concerns for many. We’re pleased to see evidence that they have helped smaller businesses right across the UK and look forward to helping more businesses to prosper and grow as we look towards economic recovery. Catherine Lewis La Torre Chief Executive Officer of the British Business Bank

Breakdown of loans offered by region – BBLS

Region Value of Loans Offered (£) Number of Loans Offered Proportion of Offered Facilities Proportion of UK Business Population
East Midlands 2,894,632,656 98,670 6% 7%
East of England 4,529,815,087 149,267 10% 10%
London 10,789,608,981 320,765 21% 19%
North East 1,341,695,001 48,262 3% 3%
North West 4,840,708,102 163,813 11% 9%
Northern Ireland 1,281,693,938 42,133 3% 2%
Scotland 2,711,960,401 93,865 6% 6%
South East 6,518,116,797 216,676 14% 16%
South West 3,554,828,669 126,496 8% 9%
Wales 1,648,042,395 59,608 4% 3%
West Midlands 3,796,501,647 124,011 8% 8%
Yorkshire & the Humber 3,211,734,914 109,156 7% 7%
Not specified by borrower 63,748,279 2,042 0% 0%

Breakdown of facilities offered by region – CBILS

Region Value of Loans Offered (£) Number of Loans Offered Proportion of Offered Facilities Proportion of UK Business Population
East Midlands 1,793,811,546 7,325 7% 7%
East of England 2,512,442,752 10,431 10% 10%
London 5,517,195,172 16,582 17% 19%
North East 694,592,700 2,919 3% 3%
North West 2,738,411,003 10,696 11% 9%
Northern Ireland 784,751,771 2,440 2% 2%
Scotland 1,425,477,706 5,927 6% 6%
South East 3,855,543,025 15,125 15% 16%
South West 2,063,373,529 8,649 9% 9%
Wales 712,911,765 3,212 3% 3%
West Midlands 2,056,434,006 8,413 8% 8%
Yorkshire & the Humber 1,803,458,437 7,669 8% 7%
Not specified by borrower 121,669,133 307 0% 0%

Breakdown of facilities offered by sector – CBILS

SIC Group Description Value of Loans Offered (£) Number of Loans Offered Proportion of Offered Facilities Proportion of UK Business Population
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 195,838,375 1,017 1% 2.6%
Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Air Conditioning Supply; Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities 437,234,410 1,910 2% 0.7%
Manufacturing 3,590,742,492 13,622 14% 4.8%
Construction 4,000,950,460 14,688 15% 16.6%
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles 4,137,852,068 16,761 17% 9.2%
Transportation and Storage 1,093,863,125 5,416 5% 5.8%
Accommodation and Food Service Activities 1,940,456,114 6,472 6% 3.7%
Information and Communication 1,124,034,994 4,334 4% 6.4%
Financial and Insurance Activities 674,199,199 1,463 1% 1.5%
Real Estate Activities 1,226,814,433 2,254 2% 2.1%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities 2,402,718,979 9,683 10% 14.6%
Administrative and Support Service Activities 2,716,524,071 11,910 12% 8.8%
Education 433,739,905 1,293 1% 5.4%
Human Health and Social Work Activities 876,525,620 3,916 4% 6.4%
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 711,896,841 2,418 2% 5.2%
Other Service Activities 487,851,521 2,464 2% 6.1%
Not specified by borrower 28,829,940 74 0% 0.0%

Breakdown of facilities offered by sector – BBLS

SIC Group Description Value of Loans Offered (£) Number of Loans Offered Proportion of Offered Facilities Proportion of UK Business Population
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 1,474,477,665 45,875 3% 2.6%
Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Air Conditioning Supply; Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities 368,339,204 11,431 1% 0.7%
Manufacturing 2,841,461,426 89,368 6% 4.8%
Construction 7,684,762,143 260,912 17% 16.6%
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles 8,234,342,759 231,055 15% 9.2%
Transportation and Storage 2,280,611,009 86,060 6% 5.8%
Accommodation and Food Service Activities 4,276,463,494 119,401 8% 3.7%
Information and Communication 2,121,404,486 71,504 5% 6.4%
Financial and Insurance Activities 421,094,101 12,571 1% 1.5%
Real Estate Activities 3,238,644,323 91,421 6% 2.1%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities 4,874,562,882 172,513 11% 14.6%
Administrative and Support Service Activities 3,269,345,759 111,940 7% 8.8%
Education 788,508,857 34,220 2% 5.4%
Human Health and Social Work Activities 1,881,659,889 63,628 4% 6.4%
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 1,030,041,420 41,482 3% 5.2%
Other Service Activities 2,333,709,344 108,695 7% 6.1%
Not specified by borrower 63,658,105 2,688 0% 0.0%

Notes

  • The management information for CBILS, CLBILS and BBLS overall totals is reported on behalf of British Business Bank accredited lenders as shared directly with HMT by close of business on 31 May 2021.
  • The applications figure includes approved applications, those applications that are still to be processed, applications that have been declined and those applications that may turn out not to be eligible or cases where customers will decide not to proceed. For CBILS, this number will also include a number of applications that have subsequently been converted to applications for the BBLS scheme.
  • *Value of top-ups also included in the headline figure of BBLS value of facilities approved. The value of BBLS facilities approved includes the extra value from a BBLS loan which has subsequently been ‘topped-up’ to a higher amount. 1 topped up loan will still be reported as 1 loan to avoid double counting the number of facilities approved. (e.g. if there were previously 2 facilities worth £40,000 each and subsequently 1 had been topped up to £50,000, this would now be reported as 2 facilities worth a total of £90,000). It was announced on 2nd November that BBLS borrowers who took out less than their maximum under the scheme rules (the lesser of £50,000 or 25% of their turnover) in their first loan application will now be allowed to top-up their loan up to the maximum.
  • Regional and sectoral Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme data has not been included in this analysis due to data protection and commercial considerations. Regional and sectoral breakdown data on CBILS and BBLS schemes drawn from the British Business Bank loans portal, 2 July 2021.
  • Breakdowns by constituency, sector SIC code, county/district and LEP area are available for download from the British Business Bank website.
  • Offered figures published by the British Business Bank may differ from aggregate approved figures published by HM Treasury due to a time lag between the two data sources.

Notes to editors

Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)

BBLS was a demand-led scheme offering lending that targets small and micro businesses, providing loans from £2k up to 25% of the business’ turnover with a maximum loan of £50k. Providing lenders with a 100% government-backed guarantee and standardising the application form led to a faster process with many loans becoming available within days. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme enabled businesses to obtain a six-year term loan at a government set interest rate of 2.5% a year. The government covered interest payable in the first year. The scheme closed on 31 March 2021.

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)

CBILS was a demand-led scheme offering lending to smaller businesses with turnover of up to £45m. Invoice finance and asset finance facilities were available from £1k to £5m, while term loans and revolving credit facilities were available from £50k to £5m. The government made a payment to cover interest and lender-levied fees under CBILS for the first 12 months. The scheme closed on 31 March 2021.

Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)

CLBILS was a demand led scheme targeted at larger businesses with a turnover of more than £45m. CLBILS can be used to support term loans, revolving credit facilities, invoice finance facilities and asset finance facilities. The maximum amount available through CLBILS to a borrower and its group was £200m. Term loans and revolving credit facilities over £50m were offered by CLBILS lenders which had secured additional accreditation. The maximum size for invoice finance facilities and asset finance facilities was £50m. Companies borrowing more than £50m through CLBILS were subject to further restrictions on dividend payments, senior pay and share buy-backs during the period of the loan. The scheme closed on 31 March 2021.

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support nearly £8bn2  of finance to more than 93,000 smaller businesses3 . Between March 2020 and March 2021, the British Business Bank was responsible for running the government’s Coronavirus business loan schemes, delivering more than £79bn of finance to over 1.67m businesses.

As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success. In light of the coronavirus pandemic and EU Exit, the Finance Hub has expanded and it now targets a wider business audience. It continues to provide information and support for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses, but now provides increased content, information and products for businesses in survival and recovery mindsets. The Finance Hub has been redesigned and repositioned to reflect this, during this period of economic uncertainty.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at british-business-bank.co.uk.

  • 2

    Figures as at end of December 2020

  • 3

    Figures as at end of December 2020

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