The British Business Bank launched a Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS), a new iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), at the beginning of July to support UK startups. Many organisations are looking at ways to participate and support the ecosystem, with Simply Asset Finance, the specialist business lending provider, being the latest to allow users to borrow under the scheme.
Ensuring startups have the right resources to help them thrive and grow is of the utmost importance to the UK government, especially when you consider how impactful startups are on the UK’s economy. Simply Asset Finance (Simply) will now have the ability to provide a wide range of finance for small businesses through the scheme.
While there are some differences in terms of fees from the Recovery Loan Scheme, the Growth Guarantee Scheme will provide a 70 per cent guarantee to participant lenders on finance of up to £2million to smaller businesses.
Simply is able to accept and process applications for the new scheme immediately, and applicants can apply via a designated portal on Simply’s website, where they can also review the full criteria of the scheme. This opportunity will be available to firms between 1 July 2024 and 31 March 2026.
Empowering UK SMEs
Mike Randall, CEO at Simply Asset Finance comments: “Being accredited to continue to lend under the scheme, now under the ‘Growth Guarantee Scheme’ banner, is a vote of confidence from the BBB.
“Our purpose is clear – empowering SMEs to realise their potential, grow and thrive. And our team of experts has worked tirelessly to deliver agile and speedy finance for the UKs SMEs. Having helped them successfully seize opportunities for growth and recovery in recent years, we’re now looking forward to being there to support them in the next stage of their journey too.
“There’s a huge opportunity out there for UK businesses who are the backbone of our economy, and it’s vital we act now to give them the finance they need to achieve their ambitions. By truly understanding them, their vision for growth, and the assets they need to succeed, we’re able to deliver an unparalleled and truly valued asset finance service.”
Capitalising on growth
With the International Monetary Fund updating its latest UK economic growth forecast to 0.7 per cent for 2024, and with a further 1.5 per cent growth predicted for 2025, there are clear opportunities to be taken advantage of in the second half of the year and beyond.
Key to achieving this growth will be ensuring that smaller businesses can secure the funds they need to quickly capitalise growth opportunities, and the Growth Guarantee Scheme plays a vital role in this.
Businesses who have previously taken out loans in the scheme’s previous iterations (CBILS, CLBILS, BBLS, or RLS) are able to access the new scheme. However, the amount they have borrowed under a previous scheme may in certain circumstances limit the amount they may borrow under the GGS scheme.