Success Story
| Region/Nation | Scotland |
|---|---|
| Programme | Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) |
| Partner |
An international organisation, Glasgow-based Macs Adventures felt the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak earlier than many other businesses. Seeing demand for its tour service diminish almost overnight, the company sought support via the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) so it could implement financial measures that would protect its future.
Read what the business had to say in this CBILS case study.
British Business Bank: Can you tell us what your company does?
Neil Lapping, chief adventure officer of Macs Adventures: We specialise in self-guided, bespoke walking and cycling holidays. We’re based in Glasgow but have 40 destinations across the UK, Europe, Australia and South America. Before COVID-19, we organised some 700 tours every year for around 30,000 customers.
The coronavirus has affected a huge number of businesses across the UK. What problems were you facing as a result of the outbreak and what made you apply for CBILS support?
Travel and tourism ground to a halt during lockdown, which obviously had a huge impact on our income. We were in a near-critical position in terms of being able to pay our staff and suppliers.
The loan we secured via CBILS will enable us to continue to trade through 2020, protect jobs and restart and rebuild our business in 2021. Neil Lapping chief adventure officer of Macs Adventures
How long did the application process take? Did you need any support?
The lender, Barclays, turned the application around quickly and without any hassle. Not having to worry about the application meant we were able to continue focusing on operational issues and supporting our team, customers and suppliers.
How has the CBILS loan helped your business to weather the outbreak? And what might have happened if you hadn’t received it?
The CBILS loan has allowed us to safeguard staff wages as the year goes on and continue to meet payments to suppliers and for other key business expenses. Having that funding in place enables us to continue to trade in 2020 and begin to pick up again in 2021. Without the loan, that may not have been the case.
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