Recovery Loan Scheme offers over £308m of lending to smaller businesses in the East Midlands

The British Business Bank announces today that, through the Recovery Loan Scheme, accredited lenders have offered over £308m to smaller businesses in the East Midlands as they steer a path towards a sustainable recovery. Of the £308.4m of total funding offered through 1,516 facilities, £264.8m has been drawn down through 1,411 facilities. Total funding offered from the scheme represents 7% of the national total, in line with the relative size of the region’s business population (7%).

A total of £4.51bn of lending has been offered through over 20,643 facilities across the UK, £3.83bn has been drawn down through 18,338 facilities. The Recovery Loan Scheme launched in April 2021 and was originally scheduled to run until 31 December 2021. At Autumn Budget 2021, the government extended the scheme by six months to 30 June 2022 and made some adjustments to its terms. The government provides a guarantee of 80% for loans made before 1 January 2022 and 70% for loans after that date. The borrower remains 100% liable for the debt.

The government announced today that there will be a successor scheme to RLS, which will open for applications in August 2022. Further details will follow when the scheme goes live.

Dr Sophie Dale-Black, UK Network Director, Midlands, British Business Bank, said: “The British Business Bank is committed to supporting smaller businesses in accessing the finance they need to grow sustainably. Nearly one and half thousand businesses across the East Midlands have taken out loans under the Recovery Loan Scheme. This will better position them to confront both the challenges and opportunities that are ahead.”

Data as provided to British Business Bank by Recovery Loan Scheme delivery partners as at 12 July 2022. A breakdown of loans offered by region and sector is provided below.

As the scheme matures, we intend to publish performance data half-yearly, based on end of September and end of March data.