SME funding

Bibby and Go Business Loans increase support for SMEs




Bibby Financial Services and Go Business Loans have made changes to their offerings to aid SMEs in need of funding.

Bibby Financial Services

Bibby Financial Services has announced a £300m pandemic recovery fund to support SMEs as lockdown restrictions are lifted over the coming months.

The fund can be accessed by new and existing SME clients that trade with other businesses and is available through the firm’s invoice finance products, including construction finance, factoring, invoice discounting, and trade and export finance variants.

The fund will be targeted at SMEs who are trading on credit terms with other businesses, supporting supply chains, and those looking to access funding to drive growth. 

While available to all SMEs, based on current demand, the company expects approximately 20% of the fund to support manufacturing businesses, 15% for services, 15% for construction, 10% for transport, and 10% for recruitment. 

The remaining 50% will be available to businesses suitable for invoice finance in all other sectors.

Recent research conducted by Bibby Financial Services found that 66% of SMEs believe that demand will reach pre-pandemic levels by September, and 76% are looking to invest in staff training, hiring, new tech and equipment over the coming months.

Ian Ramsden, UK CEO at Bibby Financial Services, said: “We know the tremendous impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on SMEs and supply chains across the UK over the past year. 

“However, with the vaccine roll-out underway and the UK government’s four-step roadmap out of lockdown underway, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for the economy.

“Now is the time for SMEs to plan ahead so they have sustainable funding in place to enable them to increase stock levels, rehire staff and take on new business as customer demand starts to return throughout the spring and summer months.”

He added that SMEs should start to consider more sustainable sources of funding to coincide with the rebound of demand.

“We support the Recovery Loan Scheme as we supported CBILs, but this fund will allow us to provide funding to a wider range of businesses as they position for growth. 

“We’re proud of the support we have provided to the national and regional economies over the past 40 years. 

“Our pandemic recovery fund demonstrates our ongoing commitment to UK SMEs [and] our support to recovery over the coming months.”

During the pandemic, the company continued to support new and existing clients, funding over £6bn of SME turnover in 2020, as well as providing foreign exchange services for businesses trading internationally. 

Go Business Loans

Go Business Loans has introduced a new business loan facility to help assist small businesses seeking quick short-term lending.

The lender will provide loans between £2,500 and £20,000 to limited companies and LLPs in Wales and across the UK.

Facilities will be considered for a range of purposes, with repayment terms of up to 12 months.

The new product aims to be an alternative option to the Recovery Loan Scheme, and offers term loans to cater to small businesses that don’t wish to borrow more than they need. 

The provider plans to put emphasis on speedy decisions for its applicants, as well as delivering a personal service.   

Applications for the unsecured loans can be made online via the Go Commercial Loans website or by contacting the team.

“We are aware that some small businesses may find a shortage of options for this amount of borrowing and we are delighted to bring a solution to market during a time that companies are increasingly more likely to encounter cashflow challenges,” said David Vieira, managing director at Go Business Loans.

“We know that the government and the high street banks have done an incredible job in supporting businesses as best they can in extremely difficult conditions, but we have identified there to be a shortage of options between £2,500 and £20,000 and we are very proud that through this new facility we are able to help plug that gap.”

Max Woodman, head of investor relations at Go Business Loans, added: “Customers will be able to talk to human beings and speak directly to experienced underwriters if necessary, which we feel will be of real help to businesses which need answers in order to make quick decisions themselves during such a challenging time.”

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