British Business Bank’s Growth Guarantee Scheme to support businesses affected by tariffs
Announced by the chancellor today, the Growth Guarantee Scheme will provide approximately £500m of additional lending capacity to help more smaller businesses across the UK. The extra funding is aimed at smaller businesses that may need support with cashflow issues due to changes in global tariff rates.
Delivered by the British Business Bank through around 50 accredited lenders, the Growth Guarantee Scheme has so far enabled £2.1bn of finance through 13,447 facilities
The Growth Guarantee Scheme can generally support facility sizes of up to £2m and provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee, helping lenders to support viable smaller businesses. The additional capacity is being provided to support around £500m of extra lending, targeted toward smaller UK businesses affected by the changes to global tariff rates.
Businesses can use the finance for any legitimate business purpose, including managing cashflow or working capital requirements due to disruption caused by changes to global tariffs. However, businesses must be able to afford to take out additional debt finance for these purposes.
Scheme features
The Growth Guarantee Scheme aims to improve the terms on offer to borrowers. If a lender can offer a commercial facility on better terms, they will do so.
Key features include:
- Up to £2m per business group: The maximum amount of a facility provided under the scheme is generally £2m per business group for borrowers outside the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol, and up to £1m per business group for Northern Ireland Protocol borrowers.
How to apply
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is available through the British Business Bank’s accredited lenders and partners, which are listed on the British Business Bank website.
In the first instance, businesses should approach their own provider – ideally via the lender’s website. They may also consider approaching other lenders if they are unable to access the finance they need.
Reinald de Monchy, co-chief banking officer, British Business Bank, said: “The Growth Guarantee Scheme and its predecessors have proven themselves to be an important means of supporting smaller UK businesses over the last forty years. The Growth Guarantee Scheme can be used counter-cyclically, enabling smaller businesses to obtain funding during times of uncertainty such as we are experiencing currently. It is therefore important and necessary to see additional capacity made available to support smaller UK businesses at this time.”
At Autumn Budget 2024, the government confirmed over £1bn of funding for the British Business Bank to continue its programmes throughout 2025/26, supporting access to finance for smaller UK businesses, and helping to drive economic growth across the UK. This included additional support for smaller housebuilders through the ENABLE Build programme, allocated funding for the Growth Guarantee Scheme, funding for Start Up Loans, additional funding for three equity programmes supporting innovative, high growth businesses including tailored support for companies in life sciences.