Today the government publishes new statistics that show businesses across the UK have benefitted from 1,670,939 government-guaranteed loans worth £79.3bn. These loans helped support their cashflow during the crisis through schemes delivered by the British Business Bank.
This includes 1,560,309 Bounce Back Loans worth £47.36 billion, 109,877 loans worth £26.39 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and 753 loans worth £5.56 billion through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. New figures for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme Top-Ups reveal 106,660 loans have been approved worth £0.95bn.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme all closed on 31 March 2021. New data also published today by the British Business Bank reveals the detailed regional and sectoral distribution of loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
The data shows that the proportion of overall loans in each of the nine English regions and three Devolved Nations matches closely their respective share of the UK business population. The North West reports the largest usage of CBILs and BBLS (11%) outside London and the South East (34%), ahead of the East of England (10%).
The data also provides analysis of loan uptake across sectors with construction (17%) and wholesale and retail (15%) receiving the highest proportion of total loans.
For CBILS, the manufacturing sector accessed a significantly higher proportion of loans (14%) than its share of the business population (5%), followed by wholesale and retail (17% v 9.2%).
For BBLS, the wholesale and retail sector accessed a significantly higher proportion of loans (15%) than its share of the business population (9%). The construction sector accessed the highest proportion of BBLS loans overall (17%).
Catherine Lewis La Torre, Chief Executive Officer of the British Business Bank, said: “The Covid-19 loan schemes have been an important part of the government’s response to the pandemic, providing businesses with much-needed breathing space and reducing cash-flow concerns for many. We’re pleased to see evidence that they have helped smaller businesses right across the UK and look forward to helping more businesses to prosper and grow as we look towards economic recovery.”
Breakdown of loans offered by region – BBLS
|
Region |
Value of Loans Offered (£) |
Number of Loans Offered |
Proportion of Offered Facilities |
Proportion of UK Business Population |
|
East Midlands |
2,894,632,656 |
98,670 |
6% |
7% |
|
East of England |
4,529,815,087 |
149,267 |
10% |
10% |
|
London |
10,789,608,981 |
320,765 |
21% |
19% |
|
North East |
1,341,695,001 |
48,262 |
3% |
3% |
|
North West |
4,840,708,102 |
163,813 |
11% |
9% |
|
Northern Ireland |
1,281,693,938 |
42,133 |
3% |
2% |
|
Scotland |
2,711,960,401 |
93,865 |
6% |
6% |
|
South East |
6,518,116,797 |
216,676 |
14% |
16% |
|
South West |
3,554,828,669 |
126,496 |
8% |
9% |
|
Wales |
1,648,042,395 |
59,608 |
4% |
3% |
|
West Midlands |
3,796,501,647 |
124,011 |
8% |
8% |
|
Yorkshire and The Humber |
3,211,734,914 |
109,156 |
7% |
7% |
|
Unspecified |
63,748,279 |
2,042 |
0% |
0% |
