Loan scheme borrowing hits £1.5m

Thursday 28 May 2020

30 business loans totalling up to £1.5million have been approved through the government-guaranteed emergency loan scheme so far, it has emerged.

The latest figures, confirmed to Express by the Treasury Minister, show that 30 loans have been approved with businesses already withdrawing over £925,000.

The government is underwriting 80% of the loans, which can range between £5,000 and £500,000, so their guarantee will only cover £40million of this at a maximum if local businesses are unable to pay it back as a result of the covid-19 crisis.

Minister for Treasury and Resources Deputy Susie Pinel has today confirmed to Express that, as of 15 May:

• 30 loans had been approved;
• These loans offer a borrowing facility of £1,466,000;
• £926,000 of this facility has been drawn down by businesses.

Pictured: The Government guarantee gives more confidence to banks in offering new loans.

Also agreed across Guernsey and the Isle of Man, the loan scheme itself is being offered through banks that lend to local businesses in the island.

To qualify for the scheme, businesses originally had to have a turnover of less than £10million.

Certain industries (finance, real estate, property development, public sector and utilities) were originally excluded from applying. However, the scheme was amended on 15 May to make it available to all businesses, regardless of sector or turnover.