Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Key facts on the new Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (EFG) - government help for businesses

Contact us and we will talk you through the application process, as well as help you to collate relevant business information for your application to succeed.

What is it?

A loan available from participating high street banks/lenders, with 75% of the loan value guaranteed by the government.

The Scheme will support up to £1.3bn of lending to small and medium sized businesses who have viable business plans and would normally be able to access commercial lending but because of current economic conditions are considered high risk by lenders eg. due to cashflow pressures or declining values of existing security.

Who is it for?

Businesses of any age, with annual turnover of up to £25m, seeking loans between £1,000 to £1m, repayable over a period of up to 10 years.

What is it for?

new loans to finance the development of the business, either as working capital or for specific projects
refinancing existing loans
to move debt from an existing overdraft into a loan to release capacity to meet working capital requirements

How long will the scheme run for?

14 January 2009 until March 2010.

What does it cost?

In additional to any repayments and fees charged by the lender, an annual premium of 2% of the outstanding balance of the loan is payable to the government.

How do I get it?

As with any other loan, the bank will decide whether to lend to your business, but the Government's guarantee will mean that some businesses who might otherwise not have been able to borrow will be able to obtain a loan. The government will be monitoring the implementation of this scheme.

Current providers are Barclays, Clydesdale/Yorkshire Bank, HBoS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, RBS/NatWest and Northern Bank.

For more information visit the Business Link pages at www.business.gov.uk/realhelp