Businesses in Northern Ireland have until 30 September 2020 to submit applications to the UK government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Belfast-based Whiterock Finance, which runs the £30m Growth Finance Fund, was accredited by the British Business Bank (BBB) to provide loans under CBILS in June and through it can provide term loans in the range of £100,000 to £2m to Northern Ireland SMEs.
The company said lenders receive a government-backed guarantee for a portion of the loan repayments to encourage more lending and borrowers pay no interest or fees on the loan for the first 12 months.
Applications must be received by midnight on September 30, with lenders then having a further two months to review and approve them.
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Whiterock CEO Paul Millar said: “CBILS has provided an attractive option for a lot of businesses who have new funding needs because of the disruption caused by Covid-19.
“CBILS provides an opportunity for companies to get a six-year loan with no interest for the first year, which should be appealing in the months ahead.”
Whiterock also runs the £30m Growth Loan Fund II as part of Invest Northern Ireland’s Access to Finance portfolio, which is part funded by ERDF under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.
Paul Millar added: “The funding Whiterock provides is designed to be complementary to existing sources of finance and we work closely with banks and primary lenders.
"They should still be an SME’s first port of call. But where a senior debt provider cannot offer all the funding required, we may be able to meet the funding gap or shortfall through our loan funds as we have a higher threshold for risk.”
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Source: Written from press release
