Top Up Your Existing Bounce Back Loan
In a recent surprise announcement, which has excited the UK business world, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that existing Bounce Back Loans can be topped up.
This applies to businesses that previously di not borrow the maximum amount permitted under the scheme (ie, 25% of total annual or expected annual turnover). There is a caveat that this option to top-up can only be used once, so anyone thinking of doing this, should think carefully about the overall amount they would have liked, and what is needed to help them through their current business crisis. We have discovered many cases where businesses applied for a much smaller amount than they would have originally liked, for fear that if they applied for a larger sum, they may have been declined.
The new top-up facility is planned to be available from Monday 9th November. We have asked the UK Treasury Department exactly how ‘topping up’ will work, and the response is that there are no complicated forms or rationale attached. For example, if you borrowed 25% of £60k (giving you a BBL of £15k) but would have liked 25% of £100k, then you simply apply for the difference. Barclays Bank have stated that a simple application form to update will be made available on their website. We believe other banks will do the same, to minimise Admin time.
If you have not already made an application for a Bounce Back Loan, then there’s further good news – the time limit for applications has been moved from November 6th 2020 to 31st January 2021.