Almost 1.6 million businesses have used Government COVID-19 financial support schemes, receiving £73 billion in total, the Treasury has revealed.
The majority of that support has been provided through the bounce back loan scheme (BBLS), through which 1.5m businesses borrowed more than £45.5bn.
Around 92,500 firms have accessed £22bn through the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), whilst more than 700 larger firms have used the coronavirus large business interruption scheme (CLBILS), which provided around £5.3bn in support.
Stephen Pegge, managing director of commercial finance at UK Finance, said:
“The newly outlined plans to ease lockdown restrictions mean many businesses are beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
“However, as the pandemic continues to cause significant economic uncertainty, many individual businesses and some specific sectors are facing extended disruption and may find themselves in financial difficulty in 2021.”
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1.6m UK firms supported by COVID-19 schemes
In the 11th and 12th centuries half a million pilgrims a year travelled on foot from all over Europe to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. In September 1992 Patrick Shanahan retraced their steps, recording his 500 mile journey in a series of photographs, some of which are reproduced on this website.