Over four months ago the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was introduced. Since its launch, over 55,000 UK businesses have been approved for £12.2 billion in CBILS funding*. But whilst there’s been a massive uptake of the scheme, many businesses are still struggling to access the funds they need from their main business bank.

On Tuesday 4 August, Xero hosted a webinar focussed on helping business owners understand the funding options available to them for COVID-19 recovery. Key topics on the agenda included:

• Government support schemes and what’s changed
• Lending options available for your business
• Planning for repayment
• Tops tips for business owners right now

The webinar was led by Ben Johnson, Director of Financial Partnerships at Xero and the panellists were Katrin Herrling, CEO and Co-Founder of Funding Xchange, Mat White, Accounting Relationships Manager at iwoca as well as MarketFinance’s Head of Partnerships, Tom Davenport.

“The government schemes available at the moment present a unique opportunity for businesses to benefit from an otherwise disruptive situation,” Tom advised the many UK businesses who tuned in to the session. “Look at what’s available and choose funding that will not only help right now, but will continue to help your business trade and grow long into the future.”

At MarketFinance, we’re accredited to provide both CBILS loans and CBILS revolving credit facilities. If you’re looking for a quick cash injection into your business, then a CBILS loan could be the best solution to help. But if you’re looking to leverage your invoices for cash upfront, then our CBILS revolving credit facility is an affordable and flexible option you can use to trade out of the crisis.

Having a clear view of your cash flow and forecasting for the future is critical to making the right decisions when it comes to financing right now. That means it’s time to “think outside the box” says Tom. If you’ve been declined for a CBILS loan, need to refinance your Bounce Back Loan or need additional funding alongside your CBILS loan, our revolving credit facility could be the answer to your cash flow challenges.

But it’s not just down to businesses to embrace out-of-the-box thinking. “You should be encouraging your advisors to do so too,” adds Tom.

Take a look at what kinds of funding are available to you and explore different innovative funding options rather than a traditional term loan. You could be surprised by how the non-traditional lending options available could help your business not only survive, but thrive in the current economic climate.

Watch the full webinar here.

For more help and advice, check out our blog page.

*Source: Xero, as of 21 July 2020