EFG

What is the EFG Scheme?
This is the Government's new £1bn Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) Scheme, which will support up to £1.3bn of new lending by banks to eligible SME’s with working capital or investment needs.

Which companies will benefit from the Scheme?
The EFG Scheme is going to be open to businesses with an annual turnover of up to £25m, seeking loans of £1,000 to £1m, which can be repaid over a period of 10 years.
Most businesses in most sectors will be eligible for the scheme. However, state aid rules exclude businesses in the agriculture, coal and steel sectors.

What type of lending will this cover?
The guarantee can be used to support the refinancing of existing loans, new loans or to convert part, or all, of an existing overdraft into a loan to release capacity to meet working capital needs.

How much of the loan is the Government going to guarantee?
The Government will guarantee 75% of the loan.

How long will the Scheme run for?
EFG will be available from Wednesday 14 January 2009 and will be available until March 2010.

Who are the participating lenders?
Barclays
Clydesdale/Yorkshire Bank
HBOS
HSBC
Lloyds TSB
RBS/Natwest
Northern Bank
Other lenders will be come eligible as they apply.

How can a company access the Scheme?
A company can approach the lenders direct or use the services of a management company with the knowledge to approach the right lender and package the proposal in the right way.

Why should you talk to MSC?
Banks will be flooded with direct applications, and because of this they will give priority to fully comprehensive applications from a trusted and reliable source. Unless the bank application is viable and strong and an excellent case, then there will be a high chance of it being declined.

Call 0114 2308401 for a no-obligation chat, and find out how our finance team can assist your business.