FINANCE provider Coventry and Warwickshire reinvestment trust (CWRT) will be able to provide small businesses in the region with commercial loans of between £25,001 and £150,000.
This is due to their accreditation by the British Business Bank under its recovery loan scheme, which was initially launched last April to support businesses following the pandemic.
Since then CWRT’s lending under the scheme has helped safeguard 208 jobs with a further 98 new ones expected to be created.
The scheme has been extended but no longer requires businesses to show the impact the pandemic has had on them.
It also provides the borrower and lender with a 70 per cent government-backed guarantee for businesses with weak security.
Businesses that received funding from the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) or the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBILS) can access the support but it might reduce the amount they’re able to borrow.
CWRT is one of the first five lenders to have been given accreditation under the new version of RLS.
Sheridan Sulskis, CEO at CWRT, said: “We are looking forward to supporting more businesses that we may not have been able to support without RLS.
“The main objective is to provide access to finance to small businesses in all sectors as they look to recover and grow – whether that is for managing cashflow, investment or growth.”
Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change Coun Jim O’Boyle added: “This is a vital programme for local businesses, especially those that may struggle to access funding and I’m really pleased that Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust are managing this loan scheme.
“It will be a boost for jobs in Coventry and will help safeguard them especially when businesses are operating amid a cost-of-living crisis.”
Visit http://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/recovery-loan-scheme or www.cwrt.uk.com for further information.
