The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak has announced a new £1.25bn package to protect innovative companies against the economic impacts of coronavirus.
The scheme is targeted at those companies in dynamic sectors of the economy that may not be eligible for other government support packages.
The scheme has two parts:
- £500m loan scheme for high-growth firms, called Future Fund. This is an unsecured, convertible bridging loan where the government will provide up to 50%, with the remainder provided by a matched investor(s). Loans can range from £125k to £5m. The scheme is open to unlisted UK registered companies that have raised £250k in equity investment from third party investors in the last five year.
The Future Fund Scheme will launch in mid-May in partnership with the British Business Bank.
- £750m scheme for SME businesses focussing on research and development, available through Innovate UK’s grants and loan scheme. The scheme is open to existing and new customers. The first payments will be made by mid-May by Innovate UK.
Is your business eligible?
If you are interested in accessing the above packages, you should check whether your business is eligible.
To be eligible for Future Fund, the company must:
- Be an unlisted UK registered company
- Be a business that has raised at least £250,000 in aggregate from private third party investors in previous funding rounds in the last five years and have a substantive economic presence in the UK.
- If a member of a corporate group, only the ultimate parent company is eligible to receive the loan, and, that company has to be a UK registered company. An eligible company shall also be subject to customer fraud, money laundering and KYC checks prior to any loan being made.
Eligibility criteria for SME Package:
- Funding will be distributed through Innovate UK’s grant and loan scheme. Innovate UK are the national innovation agency. Further information on funding will be released soon.
The bridge funding shall be used solely for working capital purposes and shall not be used by the company to repay any borrowings, make any dividends or bonus payments to staff, management, shareholders or consultants or, in respect of the government loan, pay any advisory or placement fees or bonuses to external advisers.
For more detail on the Future Fund, read our factsheet on financial support available for businesses impacted by coronavirus, or review the headline terms on gov.uk.
