The Government-backed Growth Guarantee Scheme remains open and we can support your application.

What is the Growth Guarantee Scheme? 

The successor scheme to the Recovery Loan scheme, the Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) launched on July 1 2024 and is designed to support access to finance for UK small businesses as they look to invest and grow. 

Businesses that took out a CBILS, BBLS, or RLS facility before 30 June 2024 are not prevented from accessing the Growth Guarantee Scheme, although in some cases it may reduce the amount a business can borrow. 

Growth Guarantee Scheme-backed facilities are provided at our funding partners discretion, and they are required to undertake our standard credit and fraud checks for all applications. 

Am I eligible for the Growth Guarantee Scheme? 

To be eligible to apply for the Growth Guarantee Scheme with Funding Circle, you must: 

• Have a turnover of less than £45 million 
• Use the loan for a business purpose such as working capital or investment 
• Not be in difficulty or have any collective insolvency proceedings ongoing 

How does the guarantee work? 

• The Growth Guarantee Scheme provides lenders with a 70% government-backed guarantee against the outstanding balance of the debt after it has completed its normal recovery process. That means if the business who takes a loan is unable to repay the debt, the lender can recover some of the funds from the government. This allows lenders to approve more loan applications and help more businesses. 
• Please note that the guarantee is to the lender, not the business, and you are always 100% liable for the debt. 

Do I need to provide a personal guarantee for a Growth Guarantee Scheme loan? 

• Typically funders ask for a personal guarantee on all loans, including those taken under the Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS). However, Principal Private Residences cannot be taken as security under the Scheme. 

Who runs the Growth Guarantee Scheme? 

• The British Business Bank will administer the Growth Guarantee Scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. 

What happened to the Recovery Loan Scheme? 

• The first two iterations of the Recovery Loan Scheme - designed to help UK businesses access finance as they recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic - supported £4.3bn of finance to smaller UK businesses. 
• The third iteration of the scheme offered more than £1bn of finance between its launch in August 2022 and it's closure at the end of June 2024. It was replaced with the Growth Guarantee Scheme on the 1st of July 2024. 

Contact the team today to initiate your application: