Shaw & Co Surpasses £35 million milestone as it Continues to Support SMEs seeking CBILS Funding

0 September 2020    Shaw & Co, the specialist corporate finance advisory firm is successfully helping its clients to access over £36m of Government backed CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) lending, since the initiative was launched on 23 March this year.

Since the launch of CBILS, Shaw & Co’s debt advisory team has provided advice to over 500 businesses in need of help.

Colin Burns, Funding Advisor at Shaw & Co commented: “We have been inundated with calls from business owners desperately needing our support to access CBILS funding. We have spoken to businesses in almost every sector and the majority of enquiries have focused on how the scheme works, its eligibility criteria, how much funding should be asked for, and what options are available if a CBILS application has been rejected.”

Whilst Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, granted businesses on 24 September a three months extension until 31 December to apply for CBILS, Shaw & Co is currently acting for over 20 clients covering a number of sectors including travel, fitness, medical waste, grid services, property, and technology all aiming to hit the deadline for submission. The size of loans that Shaw & Co are seeking from the British Business Bank’s CBILS- accredited lenders range from £160k to the maximum £5m. Shaw and Co are actively speaking to main stream banks and the alternative lenders to get their clients the best outcome.

Burns continues: “The funds we are helping to raise are being used for a wide variety of purposes from basic “business survival” throughout the economic hardships of the pandemic, to enabling our clients to continue to develop strategically in the currently constrained economic environment. Another use is to compensate for the loss of income our clients are experiencing due to social distancing and health and safety measures in the ‘new normal’.”

Burns concludes: “We are truly delighted to have been able to ensure that the invaluable lifeline of a CBILS loan has been made available to so many deserving companies whose very survival, in many cases, depended on their application being successfully accepted. While CBILS is undoubtedly an extremely worthy initiative, the application process is nevertheless a daunting prospect for company owners and SMEs to navigate.

“We were also keen to do our bit, by offering clients a discount of up to two thirds (66.6%) on our normal fees to help them during these truly challenging times.”