The Treasury announced yesterday that around £21 billion had been loaned to small firms as part of their “Bounce Back” loan scheme. The program was launched after the original bailout scheme – the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) came under criticism from SME business owners who were unable to access funding.
The scheme has been designed to help small and medium-sized businesses borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover. The maximum loan available is £50,000. These loans are 100% guaranteed by the Government and businesses will not be charged any fees or have to pay interest to pay for the first 12 months. After 12 months the interest rate will be 2.5% a year.
It is promising to see that such a large about of money has been put towards safeguarding small businesses. As the backbone of the economy, this sector – providing around 52% of annual turnover – must be supported in order for the UK to flourish financially once again once the current situation passes.
IW Capital are pleased to see that support is available and now more than ever we are making significant endeavours to identify growth opportunities which still exist in abundance, despite the current pandemic. Private investors should be taking advantage of these opportunities, as a large number of SMEs have in fact seen an increase in demand for their products and services. Those firms in the Medtech and Biotech industries have felt this significantly, and IW Capital recently completed a £2 million raise for doctor-on-demand service GPDQ.
The small business arena employs over 16 million people in the UK and contributes around £2 trillion to the economy each year. There has been huge growth potential emanating from the sector within the last decade, including the rise of 13 technology unicorns in the last year alone. This demonstrates the latent opportunities that exist in this area which will welcome the support of investors, whether through the Enterprise Investment Scheme or other routes of private equity investment. Only by supporting small firms will the nation’s economy be able to fully recover from the impact of the Coronavirus crisis.
To find out more about IW Capital, or for more information on investment and non-executive opportunities, please speak to a member of the IW Capital team today on 020 7015 2250, or email info@iwcapital.co.uk
