COVID-19 business lending exceeds £71 billion

04 Feb 2021

UK businesses have now borrowed over £71 billion via the government's coronavirus (COVID-19) support schemes, according to figures from HM Treasury.

The loans have been accessed by over 1.5 million businesses across all sectors and areas of the country.

The British Business Bank has also revealed the regional distribution of loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). The North West reported the largest usage of the CBILS and the BBLS outside of London at 11%. This was just ahead of the East of England, which recorded a figure of 10%.

The data also showed uptake across sectors, with the construction and retail industries receiving the highest proportion of total loans.

Commenting on the figures, Stephen Pegge, Managing Director of Commercial Finance at UK Finance, said: 'As economic uncertainty due to the pandemic continues, many individual businesses and some specific sectors are facing significant and extended disruption and may find themselves in financial difficulty.

'With widespread restructuring and recovery situations expected, the finance sector and related professional services are focused on providing the capacity and expertise to help support the turnaround of companies where possible, while ensuring the sympathetic treatment of those businesses which are no longer viable.'