Did your client have a CBILS loan?

The overlooked trigger in your client base

For most businesses, CBILS was not growth funding; it was survival funding that launched on 23 March 2020 to help companies get through the height of the pandemic. It worked to plug cashflow gaps and buy time, but it rarely aligned with a long-term strategy. Now, as those facilities are reaching the end of their term or have been fully repaid, a significant opportunity has arrived.

As these loans leave the balance sheet, a business’s cash flow capacity returns. Furthermore, their business credit score will likely increase, reflecting the successful completion of their debt obligations. Proactive advisers can use this moment to ask what the business wants to do next and how they plan to fund it. Without this conversation, busy clients may miss out on the capacity to roll out new plans and continue to grow only very slowly due to underfunding.

The best clients to work with

Your strongest clients are those who take your advice and value your input to help them perform. To make the most of this period, you should identify clients who took CBILS in 2020–21 and are now finishing those repayments. Focusing your time on those with urgent needs—such as ambitious owners planning to hire or expand, ill deliver the most impact.

Bringing in working capital through new external borrowing provides the impetus needed for these next steps. Whether a business needs a business loan for new equipment or to manage a busy growth phase, the successful repayment of pandemic-era debt puts them in a much stronger position to get favourable terms.

A quick note on what has changed

Since the days of CBILS, government support has changed significantly. The support first turned into the Recovery Loan Scheme and has now become the Growth Guarantee Scheme. These schemes have different terms and eligibility rules, but lenders still use them for businesses that might have insufficient security for a standard facility. While a government-backed scheme might be the right path, there are many other products and lenders in the market that could be more suitable for your client's specific goals. It is worth talking through these different ideas with our experts to find the best fit for their current situation.

How Capitalise.com helps with your funding strategy

At Capitalise.com, we help you find the right path for your business finance after CBILS. By working with over 130 lenders, we make it easy to compare different facilities and see if the Growth Guarantee Scheme or a standard business loan is the right choice for your next move. We also help you monitor your business credit score to ensure you are always in the best position to get the funding you need to grow.

To discuss new lending facilities or to see if the Growth Guarantee Scheme is right for your clients, you can contact your dedicated Partnership Manager at partner.support@capitalise.com.