Government-backed loans
Lending from accredited funders where the government guarantees part of the lender's exposure. Useful when a business is viable but light on security.
Request a callback- Delivered by
- Accredited lenders
- Guarantee protects
- The lender, not you
- Facility types
- Loans, asset and invoice finance
- Eligibility
- Confirmed at enquiry
Figures are indicative market ranges at the time of writing, not offers or quotes. What is available to your business depends on the lender, your circumstances and the security available.
About government-backed loans
Under a government-backed scheme, the state guarantees a proportion of an accredited lender's losses if a facility is not repaid. The point that gets misunderstood most often is who that protects. The guarantee sits with the lender. You and any guarantors remain fully liable for the whole debt, exactly as with any other borrowing.
What the guarantee does is widen the range of businesses a lender can say yes to. Where a company trades well but cannot offer the security a lender would normally require, the guarantee can bridge that gap. It is a solution to a security problem, not a cheaper source of money — scheme-backed facilities are not automatically better priced than commercial alternatives.
The programmes themselves change. The Growth Guarantee Scheme succeeded an earlier recovery programme, and its terms, size limits and accredited lender list have been revised more than once since. Older schemes from the pandemic period are long closed to new lending. Rather than publish figures that may already have moved, we confirm what is genuinely available, and whether you qualify, at the point you enquire.
Where a scheme facility helps
- A viable, trading business that lacks the property or assets a lender would usually want as security.
- Growth plans that a conventional facility will not stretch to on the security available.
- Funding a business in a sector where mainstream appetite is limited.
- Cases where a lender is otherwise comfortable and security is the only sticking point.
- Businesses that want the option compared honestly against straightforward commercial lending.
What to understand clearly
- The guarantee protects the lender. You remain liable for the full amount borrowed.
- Personal guarantees are still commonly required, subject to each scheme's own rules.
- Scheme lending is not automatically cheaper — always compare it against the commercial alternative.
- You must still satisfy the lender's normal credit assessment; the guarantee is not a shortcut.
- Eligibility criteria, limits and accredited lenders change, so anything you read elsewhere may be out of date.
Frequently asked
Am I eligible?
Eligibility turns on things like turnover, sector, where the business trades and what the funding is for, and the rules are revised periodically. We check the current criteria against your circumstances rather than working from what applied last year.
What happened to the older pandemic schemes?
Bounce Back Loans and the Coronavirus Business Interruption scheme closed to new applications years ago, and the Recovery Loan Scheme that followed has itself been replaced. If you are servicing a facility from one of those, it continues under its original terms — but none are available for new borrowing.
Does the guarantee mean I can walk away if it fails?
No, and this is the single most important thing to understand. The lender can pursue the debt in full, and any personal guarantees stand. The government's guarantee only compensates the lender after it has exhausted its own recovery efforts.
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Tell us what the money is for
A short conversation is usually enough for us to tell you what is realistic — including when the answer is that you should not borrow.
