What CBILS deals are alternative lenders offering?
More than 100 firms are now accredited to provide coronavirus business interruption loans to struggling borrowers, and here is what the approved alternative finance platforms are offering.
Funding Circle was the first peer-to-peer lender to gain accreditation from the British Business Bank to provide CBILS finance, followed by Assetz Capital, LendingCrowd and Folk2Folk, while Crowd2Fund is approved but is finalising institutional credit lines.
Marketplace lenders MarketFinance and ThinCats are also among the total of more than 100 accredited CBILS lenders which also includes high street and challenger banks.
Only four of the approved alternative lenders have released their rates so far, here is what is on offer.
Products
Funding Circle is offering loans of between £50,000 to £250,000 under CBILS.
It is also providing bounce back loans of up to £50,000, under a separate government scheme.
LendingCrowd is targeting a similar market, with CBILS finance starting from £50,001 to £250,000.
MarketFinance is only offering loans under CBILS of up to £150,000.
Businesses can also apply for its invoice finance product, offering facilities from £50,000 to £5m.
ThinCats is starting higher, with loans on offer from £1m to £5m.
It said it has a particular sector appetite for leisure, travel, retail, which are some of the sectors most affected by the pandemic.
None of the four will ask for a personal guarantee for the loans but MarketFinance said it may require one for invoice finance facilities above £250,000.
Eligibility
All CBILS applicants must be adversely affected by coronavirus.
Funding Circle, LendingCrowd, MarketFinance and ThinCats require firms to have turnover of up to £45m although MarketFinance requires a minimum of £100,000.
Applicants will need three years of trading history to apply with Funding Circle or two years for ThinCats, MarketFinance and LendingCrowd.
Companies must be registered in the UK and MarketFinance requires at least one director to live in the country.
Funding Circle and ThinCats state that 50 per cent of turnover must come from trading activity and LendingCrowd said half of income from trading activity must come from the UK.
MarketFinance states that applicants must operate in the business-to-business space, meaning they must sell goods or services to other firms.
Borrower rates
All CBILS finance is interest-free for the first 12 months.
Interest on Funding Circle’s CBILS finance ranges from 1.4 per cent and 8.9 per cent for between two and five years.
MarketFinance has slightly lower rates of between 1.02 per cent to 6.34 per cent for two to three years.
LendingCrowd said its loans will start at 5.6 per cent and Crowd2Fund said it will offer 9.5 per cent.
ThinCats will offer rates of between six and nine per cent for up to six years.