Recovery Loan Scheme (iterations 1 & 2) Performance Data as at 31 March 2024

28 May 2024

The British Business Bank launched the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) in April 2021, to support access to finance and growth for UK businesses as they steered a path towards a sustainable recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. This first iteration of the scheme was originally scheduled to run until 31 December 2021.

In the 2021 Autumn Budget the scheme was extended by six months to 30 June 2022, resulting in the second iteration of the RLS. At that time some adjustments to the scheme’s terms were made: the government had provided a guarantee to accredited lenders of 80% for scheme facilities offered before 1 January 2022, reduced to 70% for scheme facilities offered on or after that date. The borrower remains 100% liable for the debt.

RLS iterations 1 & 2 were closed to new applications on 30 June 2022.

A new RLS scheme was announced by the government and opened for applications on 1 August 2022. This third iteration supports British Business Bank’s ongoing commitment to support sustainable, accessible funding for UK smaller businesses to enable them to invest and grow. Further details are available on the British Business Bank website. Data for the third iteration of RLS is published separately.

    Performance

    Since the launch of RLS, the British Business Bank has regularly published quarterly performance data for iterations 1 & 2, with a commitment to continue publishing performance data on a quarterly basis.

    This publication provides data as at 31 March 2024 for the RLS (iterations 1 & 2). As with previous publications, the data relies on information submitted to the British Business Bank’s guarantee portal by accredited lenders.

    RLS (iterations 1 & 2) Data

    As at 31 March 2024, businesses had drawn 20,078 facilities, totalling £4.33 billion, through the RLS.

    70.94% of RLS facilities (by number of drawn facilities) are on schedule, and 9.57% of scheme facilities are fully repaid. 3.19% are currently in arrears (but not yet progressed to default), and 2.09% are currently in default (but have not yet progressed to a claim by lenders).

    To date lender claims of £204.67 million have been settled by British Business Bank against the government guarantee. This equates to 4.72% of the total drawn value or 11.83% of the total number of drawn facilities.

    It remains important to recognise that while RLS iterations 1 & 2 were closed to new applications on 30 June 2022, data being collected from scheme lenders is subject to refinement, addition, and correction over time, and should not be regarded as definitive nor conclusive as to the performance of the scheme. Please see Limitations and further considerations for further background.

    Suspected fraud

    Lenders have currently identified 89 RLS facilities with an aggregate drawn value of £34.39m as suspected fraud. This equates to 0.44% of the total number of drawn facilities and 0.79% of the total drawn value. Lenders continue to review cases, and consequently this figure is subject to change. This relies on lenders’ business as usual threshold for fraud reporting. That is, the lender has established sufficient grounds to suspect fraud, which is then reported via the British Business Bank portal.

    Lenders are not law enforcement agencies or investigatory organisations. Where they have a suspicion that fraud has been committed by a borrower, they will indicate so in the information which they provide to the British Business Bank. Ultimately it is law enforcement/ the courts that determine whether or not a fraud has been committed, and so the statistics presented are only an indicator of the levels of suspected fraud that have been identified within the scheme at a given point in time.

    Detailed facility status

    Table 1 shows outstanding number of facilities and values as at 31 March 2024.

    See Definitions below when interpreting these tables.

      Table 1: RLS-Summary Facility Status

      Furthest life event reached

      Number of facilities

      % Number of facilities

      Outstanding balance (£m)

      Final value (£m)

      On Schedule

      14,243

      70.94%

      2,188.98

      -

      Arrears

      640

      3.19%

      75.28

      -

      Defaulted

      420

      2.09%

      72.27

      -

      Claimed

      478

      2.38%

      39.91

      -

      Settled

      2,375

      11.83%

      -

      204.67

      Fully Repaid

      1,922

      9.57%

      -

      669.32

      Grand Total

      20,078

      100.00%

      2,376.44

      873.99

      Note on Table 1

      The aggregate total of Outstanding Balances and Final Values in Table 1 do not sum up to the total Drawn Value due to changes in facility amounts outstanding over time, e.g. due to partial repayments of a facility, certain recoveries received in respect of a facility and facility amounts written-off by lenders.

      The following tables show the original drawn aggregate facility value and the number of facilities for each lender, by region, by SIC group and by facility type, together with the current aggregate value and number of settled facilities for each lender.

        Table 2: RLS-Breakdown of facilities drawn and settled

        Lender Name

        Drawn value (£m)

        Number of facilities

         Settled value (£m)

        Settled number of facilities

        ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance N.V.

        5.61

        8

        -

        -

        AIB Group (UK) Plc

        3.55

        4

        0.11

        1

        Aldermore Bank Plc

        62.17

        240

        0.56

        5

        Allica Bank Limited

        2.11

        2

        -

        -

        Arbuthnot Latham & Co Ltd

        192.84

        84

        0.35

        1

        Arkle Finance Ltd

        9.48

        101

        0.57

        10

        ART SHARE Limited

        2.51

        42

        0.29

        7

        Assetz Capital Lending Limited

        42.42

        14

        5.54

        2

        Atom Bank plc

        132.69

        180

        -

        -

        Bank of Scotland plc

        6.33

        41

        0.19

        1

        Barclays Bank Plc

        52.66

        183

        0.64

        4

        BCRS Business Loans Ltd

        3.94

        64

        0.13

        4

        Big Issue Invest Ltd

        0.3

        2

        -

        -

        Business Enterprise Fund

        9.26

        131

        0.88

        20

        Business Lending Group

        24.3

        12

        -

        -

        Capitalise Business Support Ltd

        1.88

        24

        0.15

        3

        Close Brothers Ltd

        203.42

        595

        2.13

        28

        Clydesdale Bank Plc

        48.97

        70

        2.74

        3

        Compass Business Finance

        4.6

        64

        0.46

        7

        Conister Finance & Leasing Ltd

        32.33

        204

        1.64

        21

        Coventry & Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust Ltd

        1.81

        23

        0.02

        1

        Cynergy Bank Ltd

        59.94

        29

        -

        -

        Danske Bank

        2.9

        5

        -

        -

        DSL Business Finance

        0.64

        10

        0.11

        2

        Ebury Partners UK Ltd

        0.45

        2

        -

        -

        Edinburgh Alternative Finance Limited T/A Lending Crowd

        14.97

        96

        0.2

        2

        Enterprise Answers

        0.28

        3

        0.17

        2

        Enterprise Loans East Midlands

        2.78

        38

        0.21

        4

        EVBL (General Partner NPIFY&H Debt) Limited

        11.66

        51

        0.23

        2

        Fiduciam Nominees Limited

        4.87

        1

        -

        -

        Finance for Enterprise

        7.07

        76

        0.37

        8

        FSE GLIF LD LP

        14.19

        18

        -

        -

        FSE GLIF SD LP

        6.34

        24

        0.11

        1

        FSE MEIF LP

        10.15

        28

        1.48

        8

        Funding Circle

        899.45

        9,104

        92.05

        1436

        GC Business Finance

        0.97

        14

        -

        -

        Genesis Asset Finance Ltd

        0.9

        16

        0.01

        2

        Growth Finance Fund LP(WhiteRock Capital Partners LLP)

        3.5

        5

        -

        -

        Growth Lending Group Ltd

        168.2

        44

        13.92

        3

        Hampshire Trust Bank Plc

        67.94

        57

        1.85

        6

        Haydock Finance

        17.71

        79

        1.61

        12

        HSBC UK Bank Plc

        561.93

        2,322

        18.67

        257

        Independent Growth Finance Ltd

        9.54

        19

        0.14

        1

        InterBay Asset Finance Limited

        5.55

        30

        -

        -

        Investec Bank PLC

        68.77

        236

        2.3

        7

        Iwoca Limited

        30.96

        119

        1.23

        9

        Kingsway Finance group

        22.25

        195

        1.3

        20

        Kriya Finance (Formerly Market Finance)

        104.21

        622

        2.73

        26

        Lendnet LLP

        16.22

        14

        1.15

        1

        Leumi UK Group Ltd

        32.34

        16

        -

        -

        Lloyds Bank Plc

        59.31

        257

        0.69

        5

        MEIF - ESEM SBL LP

        2.98

        38

        0.22

        4

        MEIF - Maven East and South East Midlands

        12.31

        32

        -

        -

        MEIF - Maven West Midlands

        12.37

        28

        -

        -

        MEIF - WM SBL LP

        2.12

        39

        0.05

        1

        Merchant Money Ltd (t/a Momenta Finance)

        24.25

        137

        1.76

        18

        Metro Bank PLC

        333.73

        181

        1.35

        5

        NatWest Group plc

        111.12

        951

        7.21

        109

        NE Growth (ERDF) General Partner Ltd

        3.54

        18

        0.68

        5

        Newable Business Loans Ltd

        3.99

        27

        0.58

        5

        North East (ERDF) Small Loan Fund Limited

        0.92

        13

        0.06

        1

        North West Loans NPIF GP Limited

        13.41

        45

        0.25

        2

        Novuna

        39.76

        77

        1.77

        6

        NPIF - NW MF LP

        1.74

        29

        0.05

        2

        NPIF - YHTV MF LP

        1.55

        28

        0.26

        7

        Nucleus Cashflow Finance Ltd

        141.66

        780

        21.94

        163

        OakNorth Bank plc

        9.62

        6

        -

        -

        Paragon Bank PLC

        52.04

        313

        0.53

        7

        RM Funds

        4.51

        4

        -

        -

        Robert Owen Community Bank Fund

        0.05

        2

        -

        -

        Santander UK

        56.05

        22

        -

        -

        Scania Finance Great Britain Limited

        4.07

        21

        -

        -

        Secure Trust Bank plc

        16.45

        7

        4.94

        3

        Shawbrook Bank Limited

        10.15

        11

        1.01

        3

        Shire Leasing plc

        12.88

        193

        0.75

        22

        Simply Asset Finance Operations

        75.48

        676

        1.61

        44

        Skipton Business Finance Ltd

        2.84

        24

        0.07

        3

        Social Investment Business Foundation

        4.82

        16

        -

        -

        Starling Bank Ltd

        22.82

        186

        0.82

        12

        SWIG Finance

        6.7

        69

        0.18

        4

        ThinCats Ltd

        134.59

        69

        0.49

        1

        Time Finance plc

        4.58

        64

        -

        -

        Tower Leasing Ltd

        8.63

        202

        0.22

        11

        Triodos Bank UK Ltd

        10.6

        9

        -

        -

        TVC Loans NPIF GP Limited

        5.74

        21

        0.93

        5

        UK Steel Enterprise Ltd

        1.26

        6

        -

        -

        United Trust Bank Limited

        135.45

        116

        -

        -

        Grand Total

        4,333.87

        20,078

        204.67

        2,375

          Table 3: RLS-Drawn by Region/Nation

          Region

          Drawn value (£m)

          No. of facilities

          East Midlands

          305.82

          1,496

          East of England

          410.27

          2,034

          London

          1,040.35

          3,568

          North East

          109.60

          622

          North West

          442.44

          2,114

          Northern Ireland

          61.87

          333

          Scotland

          224.67

          1,121

          South East

          577.17

          3,024

          South West

          295.11

          1,637

          Wales

          136.10

          669

          West Midlands

          333.95

          1,840

          Yorkshire and The Humber

          341.66

          1,559

          Unspecified*

          54.87

          61

          Grand Total

          4,333.87

          20,078

          * This includes Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the facilities where location could not be specifically determined through information provided by lenders.

            Table 4: RLS-Drawn by Sector

            Sector

            Drawn value (£m)

            No. of facilities

            Accommodation and food service activities

            318.50

            1,195

            Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods-and services-producing activities of households for own use

            0.11

            2

            Administrative and support service activities

            365.50

            1,892

            Agriculture, forestry and fishing

            23.39

            223

            Arts, entertainment and recreation

            73.44

            388

            Construction

            652.77

            2,966

            Education

            35.44

            284

            Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

            5.62

            47

            Financial and insurance activities

            191.74

            348

            Human health and social work activities

            213.44

            785

            Information and communication

            228.65

            1,166

            Manufacturing

            523.26

            2,494

            Mining and quarrying

            5.41

            28

            Other service activities

            68.15

            604

            Professional, scientific and technical activities

            331.60

            1,914

            Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

            3.09

            19

            Real estate activities

            354.94

            535

            Transportation and storage

            179.85

            1,012

            Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

            50.66

            227

            Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

            708.31

            3,949

            Grand Total

            4,333.87

            20,078

              Table 5: Drawn by Scheme Facility Type

              Facility Type

              Drawn value (£m)

              No. of facilities

              Business term loan

              3,812.83

              17,500

              Asset finance

              397.49

              2,386

              Invoice finance

              90.60

              170

              Revolving credit

              32.95

              22

              Grand Total

              4,333.87

              20,078

              Definitions

              • Definition of values:
                • The value for ‘Claimed’ is the amount claimed under the guarantee
                • The value for ‘Settled’ is the amount paid out under the guarantee
                • The value for ‘Fully Repaid’ is the full facility amount
                • The value for all other life events is the outstanding balance
              • Arrears - facilities with missed repayments are deemed to be in arrears and are tracked in 30, 60 and 90 day cohorts by lenders to manage risk. Lenders report monthly arrears updates through the Scheme portal on a “best endeavours” basis. Some lenders submit arrears via the automated (API) functionality in the Scheme portal, but it is not always possible for smaller lenders to integrate with this functionality so arrears are sometimes entered manually. Facilities in arrears that have moved to a later life-cycle stage (such as Defaulted) will be reported in the later life-cycle stage but may still carry arrears. At the time of this event occurring, this is an actual balance, and not estimated.
              • Claimed - the Lender has submitted a claim under the guarantee. Facilities sit in the claimed status while the British Business Bank awaits/processes the invoice for the claim and runs relevant checks. Under the terms of the guarantee the claim must be paid within 30 days of receipt of the claims invoice.
              • Defaulted - facilities where the lender has issued a formal demand to the borrower. At the time of this event occurring, this is an actual balance, and not estimated.
              • Drawn value - the total amount for facilities which have been drawn down by the borrower.
              • Facility or facilities - refers to a Recovery Loan Scheme facility or facilities, being either a term loan facility, a revolving credit facility, an invoice finance facility or an asset finance facility (as applicable) made available by an accredited lender to a borrower.
              • Fully repaid - the facility is considered closed as there is no further outstanding balance on the facility (the borrower has repaid the full amount).
              • On schedule - the facility is being repaid as expected, including facilities for which repayment is not yet due.
              • Outstanding balance - when used to describe on schedule is a projected figure based on the amortisation profile of individual facilities. It uses existing data points to identify the remaining facility value but is limited due to some lender data not being available.
              • Scheme portal - the database hosted by the Bank as part of its role in administering the schemes. It is used by all accredited scheme lenders to report on guaranteed facilities and make claims under the guarantee agreement. The reporting requirements have evolved over time. The portal is updated at various points in a facility lifecycle as reported by lenders.
              • Settled - settlement has been made following a lender making a claim. Once the guarantee claim is processed and payment is released, the facility is marked as settled on the Scheme portal.
              • Suspected fraud - drawn facilities which are currently flagged as suspected fraud by lenders. This flag can be added or removed by lenders at any point, and only the latest position can be provided. Suspected fraud value is a subset of the drawn value.

              Limitations and further considerations

              The following should be considered in relation to the data:

              • Data is as at 31 March 2024, and extracted at close of business on the 16 April 2024, from the information continuously submitted to the British Business Bank’s portal by accredited lenders. The portal is used by the British Business Bank and lenders to administer the facilities. Portal data is dependent on lenders submitting accurate and timely data and is not real-time.
              • The terms of and the timing of the scheme may not be representative of the lenders’ risk appetites, their general loan credit quality, or their default experience.
              • Given the size of the scheme, the numbers of facilities, and the period over which they were offered and drawn down, data being collected remains fluid and subject to refinement and correction over time (comparative analysis may therefore have limitations).
              • The timing and level of claims made on the guarantee will vary according to a lender’s business model and the characteristics of their customers (for example repayment options offered, age of businesses, whether new or existing customers).
              • Some lenders may be more advanced than others in operationalising their Claims and Recoveries processes which could lead to figures being distorted initially but this will stabilise over time.
              • Lenders may submit guarantee claims quarterly in line with the terms of the guarantee.
              • Claims on the guarantee may subsequently benefit from recovery receipts achieved at a later date (which are not reflected in the figures above), and so are not a conclusive indicator of net cost to government.
              • The number of guarantee claims and value is not necessarily related to the amount of fraud in a lender’s portfolio.
              • All data excludes loans where a scheme guarantee has been removed and the facility is no longer covered by the scheme.

              This data is not suitable to be relied on by any party wishing to acquire rights against the British Business Bank group of companies (“BBB”) or any of the RLS guarantee scheme lenders for any purpose or in any context. Any party choosing to rely on the data detailed in this release (or any part of it) does so at its own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the British Business Bank does not assume any responsibility or liability to any other party in respect of this data.

              Notes

              On 1 August 2022 the British Business Bank released details of a third iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme.

              This latest iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme continues to be available through participating lenders, who are listed on the British Business Bank website, until its current maturity date, 30 June 2024. As announced by the Chancellor in the Spring Budget, the latest iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme is due to be extended until 31 March 2026 and renamed the Growth Guarantee Scheme.

              Further information for businesses and lenders, is available on the British Business Bank website.