British Business Bank Growth Guarantee Scheme

The Growth Guarantee Scheme is the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme.

It is designed to support access to finance for UK smaller businesses as they look to invest and grow. The Growth Guarantee Scheme launched with accredited lenders on 1 July 2024, with a wide range of products supported by different lenders, including term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme can generally support facility sizes of up to £2m and provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee.

It can support facility sizes of up to £2m for borrowers outside the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Borrowers in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol may borrow up to £1 million (or such other sum as may be notified from time to time by us to the lender in accordance with the relevant legal document(s)), unless they operate in a sector where aid limits are reduced – in which case the maximum that can be borrowed   is subject to a lower cap. These include agriculture and fisheries / aquaculture.

Businesses can use the finance for any legitimate business purpose – including managing cashflow and investment. However, businesses must be able to afford to take out additional debt finance for these purposes.

The British Business Bank administers the scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. GGS-backed facilities are provided at the discretion of the lender. Lenders are required to undertake their standard credit and fraud checks for all applicants.

Eligibility criteria

The scheme is open to smaller businesses with a turnover of up to £45m (on a group basis, where part of a group). The borrower must be carrying out trading activity in the UK, not in difficulty or insolvency, and, for most businesses, generating more than 50% of its income from trading activity. Borrowers will need to provide written confirmation that receipt of the GGS facility will not mean that the business exceeds the maximum amount of subsidy they are allowed to receive.

GGS  is open to:

• Sole traders
• Corporations
• Limited partnerships
• Limited liability partnerships
• Co-operatives and community benefit societies, and
• any other legal entity carrying out business activity in the UK.

For early-stage businesses in their first three years of trading, the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme (loans from £500 to £25,000 at interest of 6% per annum) may be more suitable. Visit startuploans.co.uk for more information.

Minimum facility sizes vary, starting at £1,000 for asset finance, invoice finance and asset based lending, and at £25,001 for term loans and overdrafts.

The maximum facility value per business group is:

• £2m for businesses across all sectors outside the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol; or
• For businesses in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol:
  • £110,000 for businesses in the primary production agriculture sector;
  • £170,000 for businesses in the primary production aquaculture and fisheries sector; and
  • £1 million (or such other sum as notified by us to the lender from time to time inaccordance with the relevant legal agreement(s)) for businesses in all other sectors.

How to apply

GGS is available through the British Business Bank’s accredited lenders which are listed on the GGS accredited lenders page.