FAQs

GGS supports a wide range of business finance facilities covering term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, and invoice finance (including asset based lending).

GGS is available through the British Business Bank’s accredited lenders. Not every lender can provide each type of finance. The type of finance a lender can provide can be found on the GGS accredited lenders page. 

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.

Accessing a facility through GGS counts as a subsidy. If your business has received any previous subsidy, this may reduce the maximum amount you can borrow.

Potentially. If your business has taken out CBILS, CLBILS, BBLS and/or RLS facilities before 30 June 2022, you can access GGS providing you meet the GGS eligibility criteria, the lender’s own criteria, and that any additional lending is considered affordable by the lender.

If you accessed CBILS, CLBILS and/or RLS facilities before 30 June 2022, this would not count towards your cumulative subsidy limit in calculating the maximum amount you can borrow through RLS. Any RLS or GGS Facility taken after 1 August 2022 will count towards your cumulative subsidy limit.

If you took out a BBLS, it may count towards your cumulative aid allowance when calculating the maximum amount you can access – you will have been informed by your BBLS lender at the time if your BBLS was provided under the EU’s de minimis Regulations.

Yes, subject to meeting the scheme eligibility requirements and provided you do not borrow more than the maximum amount you are eligible for. The maximum amount your business can borrow across different facilities will depend on a lender’s assessment of affordability and scheme requirements.

Term loans and asset finance facilities are available for up to six years, with overdrafts and invoice finance available for up to three years. A term extension up to a maximum of 10 years for existing RLS facilities can be made in certain situations, in connection with the provision of forbearance relating to the facility, at the discretion of the lender if within its usual forbearance policies.

An GGS facility can be used for any legitimate business purpose including, but not limited to, managing cashflow, or investment and growth purposes.

Interest rates and fees charged by lenders will vary and will depend on the specific lending proposal, but lenders are required to pass on the economic benefit of the guarantee to your business after accounting for its costs in using the scheme, for example the scheme lender fee they are required to pay.

Please speak to your lender who will be able to give you full details on what interest rates will be payable.

Broker fees related to loans under our schemes, such as GGS, may vary depending on the lender's approach. Some lenders may have arrangements with brokers where fees are paid by the lender, the borrower, or a combination of both. We ensure certain protections, such as limiting lender’s upfront fees (including broker fees) to a maximum of 5% and work closely with lenders to maintain fair and transparent practices. However, we do not regulate the broker market and therefore brokers may charge fees outside of relationships with lenders and we recommend borrowers understand any potential fees before proceeding

Lenders are allowed to take personal guarantees for facilities of all sizes, if taking a personal guarantee is part of their typical lending practice. Lenders cannot take your principal private residence as security.
A worked example to show what this means in practice:

• Business borrows £1m  facility with a £100,000 personal guarantee;
• Business pays off £400,000 then defaults, owing £600,000;
• Lender recovers £100,000 from other secured business assets such as a debenture (e.g., stock), leaving £500,000 outstanding;
• Call on personal guarantee is £100,000 leaving £400,000 as an initial loss to the lender;
• Lender can claim for 70% of this loss (£280,000) under the guarantee, leaving £120,000 as the final loss to the lender.

Your business can, in certain circumstances, use an GGS facility to refinance existing debt. For example, where your business is seeking to put itself on a more stable financial footing and/or improve its working capital position, then in principle an GGS facility could be provided where the business meets the GGS eligibility criteria.

Refinancing can be undertaken with or without an increase in the original borrowing.

Yes, where total financing needs (including any increase) are greater than the minimum facility sizes available under GGS .

Any re-financing will be considered as a new application for GGS , so will be subject to meeting the eligibility criteria and the lender’s criteria. Re-financing can be sought with your existing lender or a different accredited lender.

Existing BBLS borrowers are able to refinance under GGS , however, borrower protections and scheme eligibility/terms under these schemes differ. Businesses should first discuss with their lender.