Coronavirus loan schemes continue to support businesses evenly across the UK, new analysis shows
New data published today by the British Business Bank reveals the regional distribution of loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). These schemes provide financial support to businesses across the UK that are losing revenue, and seeing their cashflow disrupted, as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The data, published by the British Business Bank, shows that the proportion of overall loans in each of the nine English regions and three Devolved Nations matches closely their respective share of the UK business population.
The North West reports the largest usage of CBILs and BBLS (11%) outside London and the South East (34%), just ahead of the East of England (10%).
The data also provides analysis of loan uptake across sectors with construction and wholesale and retail receiving the highest proportion of total loans.
The manufacturing sector has accessed a significantly higher proportion of CBILS loans (13%) than its share of the business population (5%), with wholesale and retail (18% v 9.2%) the second most over-represented sector for CBILS uptake.
For BBLS loans, the construction sector accessed the highest number of loans (17%), broadly in line with its proportion of the business population (16%). Wholesale and retail saw the highest proportion versus its share of business population (15% v 9%).
Catherine Lewis La Torre, chief executive officer of the British Business Bank, said: “Reducing regional imbalances in access to finance for smaller businesses is a key objective of the British Business Bank. Looking towards economic recovery, we’re pleased to see the coronavirus loan schemes continuing to support smaller businesses across the UK in accessing the finance they need to help them to keep trading and to support their future growth plans.”
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “These figures show very clearly that we have delivered on the solemn promise we made to support businesses across every part of the UK.
“While there are still tough times ahead, we will continue to offer all the support we can to protect jobs and keep businesses afloat so we can look to not only restart our economy, but build back better from the pandemic.”
Breakdown of loans offered by region – BBLS
| Region | Value of Loans Offered (£) | Number of Loans Offered | Proportion of Offered Facilities | Proportion of UK Business Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 2,684,725,529 | 91,348 | 6% | 7% |
| East of England | 4,192,234,249 | 137,741 | 10% | 10% |
| London | 9,946,815,769 | 295,692 | 21% | 19% |
| North East | 1,249,741,795 | 44,858 | 3% | 3% |
| North West | 4,512,329,695 | 152,188 | 11% | 9% |
| Northern Ireland | 1,172,538,374 | 38,181 | 3% | 2% |
| Scotland | 2,496,404,756 | 86,062 | 6% | 6% |
| South East | 6,018,627,864 | 199,574 | 14% | 16% |
| South West | 3,275,798,746 | 116,063 | 8% | 9% |
| Wales | 1,524,813,850 | 55,094 | 4% | 3% |
| West Midlands | 3,520,737,158 | 114,715 | 8% | 8% |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 2,986,264,487 | 101,197 | 7% | 7% |
| Unspecified | 62,547,705 | 2,017 | 0% | 0% |
Breakdown of facilities offered by region – CBILS
| Region | Value of Loans Offered (£) | Number of Loans Offered | Proportion of Offered Facilities | Proportion of UK Business Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 1,297,778,540 | 5,273 | 7% | 7% |
| East of England | 1,766,950,464 | 7,460 | 10% | 10% |
| London | 3,847,934,021 | 12,495 | 17% | 19% |
| North East | 493,314,081 | 1,994 | 3% | 3% |
| North West | 1,959,152,472 | 7,563 | 11% | 9% |
| Northern Ireland | 496,806,683 | 1,501 | 2% | 2% |
| Scotland | 982,517,603 | 4,144 | 6% | 6% |
| South East | 2,824,103,231 | 11,260 | 16% | 16% |
| South West | 1,534,026,632 | 6,416 | 9% | 9% |
| Wales | 503,355,434 | 2,228 | 3% | 3% |
| West Midlands | 1,486,023,928 | 6,077 | 8% | 8% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,260,361,190 | 5,415 | 8% | 7% |
| Unspecified | 67,328,939 | 190 | 0% | 0% |
Breakdown of facilities offered by sector – CBILS
| Sector | Value of Loans Offered (£) | Number of Loans Offered | Proportion of Offered Facilities | Proportion of UK Business Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 118,449,709 | 633 | 1% | 2.6% |
| Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Air Conditioning Supply; Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities | 272,371,159 | 1,063 | 1% | 0.7% |
| Manufacturing | 2,621,309,659 | 9,639 | 13% | 4.8% |
| Construction | 2,548,382,389 | 10,156 | 14% | 16.6% |
| Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles | 3,224,338,599 | 12,664 | 18% | 9.2% |
| Transportation and Storage | 694,930,852 | 3,238 | 4% | 5.8% |
| Accommodation and Food Service Activities | 1,492,059,287 | 5,202 | 7% | 3.7% |
| Information and Communication | 832,405,339 | 3,309 | 5% | 6.4% |
| Financial and Insurance Activities | 475,476,367 | 1,023 | 1% | 1.5% |
| Real Estate Activities | 567,398,029 | 1,590 | 2% | 2.1% |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities | 1,898,702,737 | 7,562 | 11% | 14.6% |
| Administrative and Support Service Activities | 1,897,281,522 | 8,015 | 11% | 8.8% |
| Education | 347,425,318 | 1,005 | 1% | 5.4% |
| Human Health and Social Work Activities | 625,474,978 | 3,056 | 4% | 6.4% |
| Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | 555,144,927 | 1,895 | 3% | 5.2% |
| Other Service Activities | 330,174,963 | 1,918 | 3% | 6.1% |
| Unspecified | 18,327,384 | 48 | 0% | 0.0% |
Breakdown of facilities offered by sector – BBLS
| Sector | Value of Loans Offered (£) | Number of Loans Offered | Proportion of Offered Facilities | Proportion of UK Business Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 1,334,800,786 | 41,253 | 3% | 2.6% |
| Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Air Conditioning Supply; Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities | 343,474,222 | 10,672 | 1% | 0.7% |
| Manufacturing | 2,637,845,296 | 82,908 | 6% | 4.8% |
| Construction | 7,054,937,788 | 238,825 | 17% | 16.6% |
| Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles | 7,722,204,866 | 216,718 | 15% | 9.2% |
| Transportation and Storage | 2,070,750,535 | 77,920 | 5% | 5.8% |
| Accommodation and Food Service Activities | 4,022,456,251 | 112,662 | 8% | 3.7% |
| Information and Communication | 1,954,932,278 | 65,946 | 5% | 6.4% |
| Financial and Insurance Activities | 392,838,477 | 11,756 | 1% | 1.5% |
| Real Estate Activities | 3,033,233,534 | 85,517 | 6% | 2.1% |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities | 4,500,522,686 | 159,280 | 11% | 14.6% |
| Administrative and Support Service Activities | 3,015,111,089 | 102,946 | 7% | 8.8% |
| Education | 725,790,577 | 31,241 | 2% | 5.4% |
| Human Health and Social Work Activities | 1,738,241,468 | 58,963 | 4% | 6.4% |
| Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | 940,347,836 | 37,741 | 3% | 5.2% |
| Other Service Activities | 2,097,754,389 | 97,961 | 7% | 6.1% |
| Unspecified | 58,337,900 | 2,421 | 0% | 0.0% |
Note: Regional and sectoral Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme data has not been included in this analysis due to data protection and commercial considerations. Data on CBILS and BBLS schemes drawn from the British Business Bank loans portal, 10 January 2021.
