About the scheme

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) supported businesses that needed finance to survive the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and recover afterwards.

Through CBILS, businesses could access financial support of up to £5 million if they had been adversely affected by COVID-19.

How CBILS worked

CBILS was available through a range of accredited lenders and partners.

A lender could provide up to £5 million in the form of:

• term loans
• overdrafts
• invoice finance
• asset finance

The scheme gave the lender a government-backed guarantee for the loan repayments to encourage more lending. The borrower always remained fully liable for the debt.

Under CBILS, a lender took no form of personal guarantee for facilities below £250,000. For facilities above £250,000, the lender had discretion to take personal guarantees, but:

• recoveries under these were capped at a maximum of 20% of the outstanding balance of the CBILS facility after the proceeds of business assets have been applied
• a principal private residence (PPR) could not be taken as security to support a personal guarantee or as security for a CBILS-backed facility

A tribunal hearing took place at the end of November 2022 following requests under the Freedom of Information Act for disclosure of information regarding borrowers under various Covid-19 loan schemes.