Nine new lenders approved to issue CBILS

The British Business Bank has announced that it has approved nine new lenders for accreditation under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), bringing the total number of CBILS lenders to over 60.

New lenders Assetz Capital, Atom bank, Ebury, Fleximize, Investec, Social Investment Business, Tower Leasing, Ultimate Finance and White Oak UK, will be able to provide financial support to smaller businesses across the UK.

Keith Morgan, chief executive, British Business Bank, said: “The British Business Bank continues to help meet the incredible demand for CBILS by approving additional lenders for accreditation to the scheme, and provide even more choice for smaller businesses in need as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. These nine newly accredited lenders for CBILS will be able to deploy vital funding and get additional finance flowing to smaller businesses across the UK as quickly as possible.”

Josh Levy, CEO, Ultimate Finance, said“Having provided over £1.6bn of funding in 2019, our people-led, technology enabled onboarding and decision-making processes will support UK SMEs with quick access to finance at this difficult time. Having worked closely with the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers on our offering, we look forward to working with our strong network of introducers to provide prompt and effective funding to their clients under CBILS.

“We see the combination of term loans with invoice finance as a powerful support package for businesses, providing both immediate cashflow help and then the flexible working capital necessary to rebuild as business conditions recover. Financial resilience and liquidity are equally as important through survival and recovery, and we are encouraging businesses to plan ahead for the full range of cashflow and working capital challenges as we emerge from this period.”

Paul Goodman, Chair of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) said “We were delighted to be able to support Josh and the Ultimate Finance team whilst they worked to become CBILS accredited. They have a well-established record of partnering with the intermediary community and NACFB’s Members look forward to maintaining this relationship through the Government loan scheme. Ultimate’s ability to offer additional funding through CBILS is a welcome addition to the toolkit of support that NACFB members are providing to borrowers across the UK.”